IRISE TRI-PRO Competition

The IRISE-TRIPRO Program has been established to encourage students to consider careers in the area of Transportation Infrastructure design, construction and maintenance which results in resilient infrastructure for the future. IRISE conducts research in this area and through the consortium of funding partners which includes public agencies, engineering consulting firms and construction companies, an opportunity is available for students to compete as a team in solving a transportation infrastructure problem by creating a unique solution to a real-world problem and earning a substantial financial reward. There will be a limit on the number of teams that can submit. The students will gain valuable insight and experience to guide their career choice in transportation by solving a transportation infrastructure problem.

The winning student team will be selected through a competitive selection process to be awarded a cash prize of $3,000. Second place will be awarded $2,000 and all entrees will be awarded $500 per team. The team rankings will be selected by a panel of IRISE partners at the completion of the competition at the IRISE fall meeting after the submission and presentation of their solution to the transportation problem during the fall semester.

Team Registration Form

The schedule for the competition is as follows:

1. Call for registration of student teams begins at the start of the fall semester (2-3 students per team, only one student can be a senior) registration forms are due at the end of week 3.
2. Student teams will be given a transportation infrastructure problem provided by IRISE partners. The student teams will attend a briefing and a field view of the problem site. This will be a local transportation infrastructure problem in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Potential problem types are:
   1. Environmental or Geotechnical Flooding or Landslides occurring along highways that impacts transportation services
   2. Roadway and Structural rehabilitation projects that need an innovative construction phasing solutions to maintain access for emergency services in a community
   3. Highway construction projects on a high-speed roadway that needs to maintain traffic flows and protect highway workers with innovative methods of construction and safety
3. Submission of a solution to the transportation infrastructure problem is due week 6 of the semester
4. Presentation of and defense of the solution to our IRISE panel of Transportation Partner Infrastructure Experts that will occur at the IRISE fall meeting at week 8 of semester

Details of the Program:

The TRIPRO Announcement will be sent out at the beginning of the fall semester to all students in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department with a request for registration of student teams for the competition. After the forms are submitted a meeting will be held to review the process with the student teams to discuss the details of the transportation project problem to be solved. A field view of the problem area will also be scheduled with the IRISE partners that sponsored the project after the problems are selected by each team.

Each team will have 3 weeks after the field view to submit a solution to solve the transportation infrastructure problem. A form and format will be provided for the submission. The solution will be a concept presented in a written and drawing format that identifies how the transportation problem is to be solved to improve the safety and/or mobility of the public while maintaining and/or creating a sustainable solution. 

A committee of representatives of IRISE partners will convene to review written submissions.

The teams will prepare a 10-minute presentation, present their solution at the IRISE fall meeting and will be required to respond to questions about their solutions. A panel of IRISE partner infrastructure experts will question the team’s solutions based upon the following criteria and weighted by the following:

• Innovativeness 25%
• Feasibility 10%
• Completeness 20%
• Sustainability 20%
• Presentation 10%
• Responses to Questions 15%

The committee will then select the awardee at the meeting based upon each team’s submission and responses to the questions.

The $3,000 award will be for first place, $2,000 for second place and $500 for all other submissions will be made at the meeting.

Register Your Team