UCI’s Uriah Campos named PSR undergraduate student of the year

UC Irvine student Uriah Campos was recently named undergraduate student of the year by the Pacific Southwest Region University Transportation Center. Campos is a senior majoring in urban studies with a GIS specialization and a minor in management.  

Michael Hyland, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, first met Campos when he applied last spring for a position as an undergraduate research assistant as part of the Transportation Undergraduate Research Assistant Program at the Institute for Transportation Studies, Irvine. 

Hyland is the faculty advisor for Campos’ research project — Equitable Design of Shared E-bikes and E-scooter Systems within American Cities. 

During the summer and fall of 2023, as part of his research, Campos investigated the implementation and design of shared e-bike and e-scooter systems within several U.S. cities. He performed a spatial equity analysis utilizing ArcGIS to create maps and visualizations of spatial data illustrating the relationship between e-bike and e-scooter service quality in comparison to neighborhood demographics.

“Uriah is an exceptional student who is a pleasure to have in my research group. He shows great promise as a young researcher, and will represent PSR well,” said Hyland, who nominated Campos for the award.

Campos completed transportation-related research projects during his sophomore, junior, and senior years, and his achievements have been broadly recognized. He was invited to present his research at the 2024 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Forum on Integrated and Sustainable Transportation System in Riverside, California, in February, the Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., in January, and the 2023 Southern California Association of Governments Regional Conference and General Assembly in Palm Desert, California, in May 2023. 

He has also presented his work to California Secretary of Transportation Toks Omishakin and was selected to represent UCI at the 2023 California Transportation Foundation Education Symposium in Walnut Creek, California, in November 2023. 

Campos was awarded an Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program Travel and Publication Award to facilitate his progress this academic year. He is also a high-performing student, maintaining dean’s honor list status through his junior and senior years.

Campos’ career goal is to design cities for optimal and sustainable transportation systems. 

“I am so honored to have received the PSR Undergraduate Student of the Year award,” Campos said. “I am deeply appreciative to be recognized for all the hard work and research that I’ve been able to complete as an undergraduate here at UCI. I am thankful to have worked with everyone who has offered me their help and support, especially my advisors at the UCI Institute of Transportation Studies. I have been able to learn from so many great experiences and opportunities that I am thrilled to take with me as I graduate and enter a career within the field of planning.”

Campos will present his research and receive his award at the PSR Annual Congress to be held later this month in Las Vegas.

This article originally appeared on the ITS-Irvine website.