Blog 22: Senior presentation reflection

Title: Senior Project Reflection
Label: Presentation
Directions: Please answer the following questions and turn it in to the blog.
Due Date: The day after your block presentation by 8:00 A.M.




(1) Positive Statement

What are you most proud of in your Block Presentation and/or your senior project? Why?

- Something that I am most proud of is being able to reach the time required. Days before I presented I thought I had enough information to present without worrying but when I presented I spoke to quickly and I did not make time at first but luckily I was able to come up with new information and make time.

(2) Questions to Consider

a. What assessment would you give yourself on your Block Presentation (self-assessment)?

-I would give myself a P.

AE P AP CR NC

b. What assessment would you give yourself on your overall senior project (self-assessment)?

-I would give myself a P.

AE P AP CR NC

What worked for you in your senior project?

- Something that really worked for me throughout senior project was the note book and having to keep a working bibliograpghy because it helped me keep all of my research where I could obtain again in the future if I needed it for something. 

(4) (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would have you done differently to improve your senior project if you could go back in time?

- Something that didnt work for me throughout senior project was not being able to tallk to other engineers because I didnt think it was neccessary but over time I found that having more than one mentor was useful because if one mentor was not at reach then you could always go to the other one if needed. 

(5) Finding Value

How has the senior project been helpful to you in your future endeavors? Be specific and use examples.

- Senior project has helped me figure out what I really want in the future. After finishing my mentorship I realized that I actually want to do engineering as a profession now. In the beginning I only chose this topic because my brother is an engineer but now I actually like it and I want too attend Cal Poly Pomona for engineering. 

Blog 21: Mentorship

Title: Mentorship
label: mentorship
Due Date: Tuesday May 13 by 8 AM 

Content 

Literal: 

Contact Name : Antonio Salas 
Mentorship Place: RBF consulting

Interpretive: The most important thing I gained from this experience was learning how to work with different professionals and being able to step out of my comfort zone to leaner new things and get things done that I could not have done without the help of other people. 

Applied: What I have done has helped me answer my EQ because not only did I work with a transportation engineer during mentorship, but I also worked with a urban planner. This helped me understand the different point of views of planners and engineers. If I would have only done mentorship with a engineer I would have never learned how the geometry of the project is obtained and how it is analyzed before it is submitted to the engineer.

Blog 20: Exit Interview

Title: Exit Interview

Label: Exit Interview

Due Date: Tuesday April 29 by 8AM




Content:





(1) What is your essential question and answers? What is your best answer and why?


How can a transportation engineer best design a comfortable means of transportation in the city of Los Angeles?

- My best is answer is by using a signal timing software that simulates traffic before the project is started. This is my best answer because this is one of the most important aspects in planning and designing. Without the use of a prgram like synchro or simtraffic, engineers would have a very difficult time figuring out if the signals or the type of lanes they implement will work or not.


(2) What proc

ess did you take to arrive at this answer?


-The process I took to arrive at this answer was going to mentorship and learning the different aspects of planning with an engineer and a urban planner. While working with both of my mentors I got to experience what it is like to ana

lyze the project sites by taking surveys and then later working with engineers to input the given data into the software. The program would give us a simulation of what the traffic is like now. What we had to do was add or take off things like stop signs, protected or non protected turns, and paths or trails.


(3) What problems did you face? How did you resolve them?

- While working on this project some problems that I faced were gathering reliable information from the internet and not running out of articles from the internet. I resolved this problem by using Cal Poly Pomona's library database and gathering thousands of articles that I could rely on. Most of them are written by engineers and proffesors.


(4) What are the two most significant sources you used to answer your essential question and why?

- The two most important sources I used to answer my Essential Question were my mentor Antonio Salas who is an engineer for the private firm RBF consulting. He was a very important soource because he taught me everything that I know about transportation engineering and he helped me come up with several different answers. My second most important suource was a book called Sustainable Transportation Planning by Jeffrey Tumlin. This was also an important

source because this book gave me a lot of useful information.

Blog 19: Independent Component 2

Blog 19:  Independent Component 2 

Title:  Independent Component 2
Label:  Independent Component
Due Date:  Friday 4/25 by 8AM

Content:  

LITERAL
(a) I, Isaac Salas, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.

(b) My source was my mentor Antonio Salas from RBF consulting.

(c) Provide a digital spreadsheet (aka log of the 30 hours).   Post it next to your mentorship log.

(d)   During my 30 hours of mentorship I went out to the field with my mentor and learned how to anayze blueprints for future projects. I had to go through 300 or more of them per day. I also had to learn more about different types of transportation like railroad because they play a big role in transportation. I had to do hours of reading and research even when I wasnt at mentorship.

INTERPRETIVE 
Defend your work and explain how the significant parts of your component and how it demonstrates 30 hours of work.   Provide evidence (photos, transcript, art work, videos, etc) of the 30 hours of work.  

Throughout my Independent component 2 I became more familiar with the signal timing software that the consulting firm RBF uses. We used these programs to input data that was received by the urban planners. During this component I was able to see both point of views from the engineer and the planner because I went out to different cities throughout the county of Los Angeles with my second mentor to take survey sheets of future projects. These survey sheets allowed us to obtain the geometry of the intersections, off ramps, and highways. These programs use methods to determine new ways to improve traffic flow. 

APPLIED
How did the component help you answer your EQ? Please include specific examples to illustrate how it helped. 

This component helped me answer my EQ because it helped me understand tranportation a lot better and now I have a much better idea of why everything is the way it is and why there is traffic. It is not as easy as most people think to just build roads and expect for their to be smooth flowing traffic. There is a lot of analyzing and planning before anything can be built.

Blog 18: Third Answer

Title:  Third Answer
Label: Research
Due Date:  Thursday March 27 by 8AM

Content:

Just like you did for answer 1 and 2 post your:

• EQ 
• How can a transportation engineer best design a comfortable means of transportation in the city of Los Angeles?

• Answer #3 (Write in a complete sentence like a thesis statement)*
• A transportation engineer can best design a comfortable means of transportation by implementing bycicle lanes.

• 3 details to support the answer (a detail is a fact and an example)
• detail 1: People who live around their job can ride bicycles to and from work.
• detail 2: Their will be less cars on the streets and their will be less saturation. 
• detail 3: By using a renewable energy source, the human body, the bicycle, will not be polluting the world like automobiles. 

• The research source (s) to support your details and answer
• http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/bike/home.shtml
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Segregated_cycle_facilities

• Concluding Sentence
• Bike lanes, road shoulders, and side paths would benefit the city of Los Angeles in a big way. Less cars less traffic and healthier people.

Blog 17: Fourth Interview

Title:  Fourth Interview Questions
Label: Interviews 
Due Date:   Tuesday March 4, 2014

Content:

1: What is one of the major means of reducing vehicle miles of travel in a region, and thus of reducing auto emissions?

2: What are the levels of public transit service?

3: Will Los Angeles implement a subway or light rail system in future to reduce traffic saturation?

4: How is public transit viewed as an important component of transportation engineering?

5: How do transit systems pplay in maintaining mobilty and thus economic prosperity

6: How are structured transit services related to the land use patterns associated with an individual area?

7: How do major transportation corridors provide an ideal enviorment for the movement of large numbers of people?

8: Why have growth characteristics changed over the last 40 years due to the highway building program?

9: How will personal vehicle travel deteriorate significantly in more and more areas of the country? 

10: What type of emerging development patterns will require a broader range of public transportation solutions?

11: How will these transit systems worsen the air in this growing nation?

12: Will there be a coherent long-term energy policy for these transit systems?

13: Will there be any threats to energy indepence if these transit systems are put in place?

14: How will the trend of declining infrastructure affect the public transit system?

15: What makes a transit system successful?

16: How can transit systems and services be expanded using different types of measures?

17: What is the difference between heavy rail rapid transit and light rail transit?

18: Why do commuter rail services exist mainly between suburban communites and urban centers?

19: How do full automated guideways reduce vehicle traffic flow saturation?

20: What are paratransit services?

Blog 16: Advisory Meeting #2

Title:  Advisory Meeting #2
Label: Presentation
Due Date:  Thursday 2/27 by 8AM

Content:

Answer 2: " The planning aspects of Transportation Engineering that relate to Urban Planning"

Technical forecasting of passenger travel usually involves an urban transportation planning model, requiring the estimation of trip generation (how many trips for what purpose), trip distribution (destination choice, where is the traveler going), mode choice (what mode is being taken), and route assignment (which streets or routes are being used). 

Sources:  http://ceg.osu.edu/undergraduate/civil-engineering/transportation-and-geodetic-engineering

               https://engineering.purdue.edu/ITE

Concluding Sentence: These are the focus of transport engineering because they often represent the peak of demand on any transportation system.

Blog 15: Independent Component 2 Approval

1.  Describe in detail what you plan to do for your 30 hours.
- For my 30 hours I plan on working with a Transportation planner and doing mentorship with him because this way I can get a different point of view of the projects that Engineers work on. It will be helpful and I will learn something new each time.

2.  Discuss how or what you will do to meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence.
- I will meet the the 30 hours expectation by taking pictures while at mentorship and keeping my mentorship log up to date. I will also try to do mentorship at least twice a week so that I finish my 30 hours quickly. 


3.  And explain how what you will be doing will help you explore your topic in more depth.
- What I will be doing is going to help me understand my topic in depth because I will learn how projects are started and how they are analyzed before engineers can get to work. I will learn things that not many engineers know and it will eventually help me in the long run because I will go into college already knowing these things,

Blog 13: Lesson 2 Reflection

Title: Lesson 2 reflection
Label:Presentation 2

Content:

1. Positive Statement

What are you most proud of in your Lesson 2 Presentation and why?
- Something I am most proud if from my presentation is that I did not have to read off my slides because I actually practiced and recited my information days before.

2. Questions to Consider       a.     What assessment would you give yourself on your Lesson 2 Presentation (self-assessment)?

       AE       P          AP       CR       NC

       b.     Explain why you deserve that grade using evidence from the Lesson 2 component contract.
- I believe I deserve this grade because I met the time requirement and I felt like I had good information that will actually help my peers in the future. I also feel like I met most of the requirements. 

3. What worked for you in your Lesson 2?
- What worked for me is that we had to only focus on our essential question and our answer which made everything a lot easier for all of us. I also felt like the activity made the students feel as if they were actually doing the job and it was well executed.

4.  (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your Lesson 2?
- If I had a time machine, I would go back and take my time to explain how the field survey sheet works on the board and show what the final product looks like so that they can have a general idea of what a day  at the field looks like for a planner or engineer.

5. Finding Value
What do you think your answer #2 is going to be? 
- I think my answer 2 will be "by figuring out the geometry of the future project site"

Blog 14: Independent Component 1

Title:  Independent Component 1
Label:  Independent Component
Due Date:  Friday 2/7 at 8AM
Content: 

(a) - Literal "I, Isaac Salas, Affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work"

(b) - https://www.ite.org/ 

(c) - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AnIhfdyOzX40dDlxOUV5V2JUUDg5MGRMemswLU4yd2c&usp=sharing#gid=0

(d) - While doing these 30 hours for my independent component I completed several things. I went to mentor ship and actually understood a lot more this time because I began to ask more questions.  I went with my mentor from city to city and analyzed many different intersections, streets, and highways. During Mentor ship my mentor and I used worksheets to write down how many left or right turns, how many lanes, and if there were pockets in each  intersection. 

Interpretive:

 Here I am with my mentor in the city of Bell gardens and we are analyzing an intersection. We did this several times in different cities. These worksheets are meant for the engineers to know what kind of intersection they will be working with. This is a significant part of my project because without this I would not get the actual data that I need and we would be relying on past reports that are outdated by now.

Applied: This component helped me understand the foundation of my project better because instead of just counting the vehicles that passed by the intersections and measuring the lanes and crosswalks, I actually began to learn why there are a certain amount of lanes in each street and why there cant be bus stops just anywhere. Or why the street division should be raised or not. This component helped me learn a lot more than I would have thought.

Blog 12: Third Interview Questions

Title: Third Interview Questions
Label: Interviews 
Due Date: Thursday January 16th by 8AM

Content:

      1. How can  a Transportation Engineer design a comfortable means of Transportation in the city of Los Angeles?

      2. Is there anyone else in the Engineering field that I can refer to if I have any questions regarding this topic?

      3. Where are some places that your firm has worked on to improve the flow of traffic? how was it done?

      4. Are there currently any projects regarding the safety of the people and how it can be improved?

      5. How do your levels of service apply to Intersections, transit, sanitary sewer service and public open space?

      6.How will both bicycle and foot traffic be improved so that the people feel more safe?

      7. Will public transportation be affected by the changes that will be made to create a more safe and rapid flow of traffic in the city of Los Angeles?

      8. What innovative ideas will be used to reduce traffic impacts on public transportation?

      9. Will there be new regulations to control traffic?

     10. What new technology will be used to provide a more comfortable means of transportation for the city of Los Angeles?

Blog 10: The Holiday

Title: Senior Project, the holiday
Label: Research
Due date: Jan 7 2014

Content: 1. It is important to consistently work on your senior project, whether it is break or we are in school. What did you do over the break with your senior project?
- Over my break I actually did something important for all those people who rather walk than drive everywhere. I did a speed survey for the city of Los Angeles. This where I find out how long it takes people to get accross the street. The way I did it was by counting the people that would walk by and measure the crosswalk. Then I would divide it and get the timing of the lights. I get the time of the green, orange, and then the red. This is important because sometimes the timing is off and the time you get to cross the street begins to decrease.

2. What was the most important thing you learned from what you did and why? What was the source of what you learned?

- The most important thing I learned from what I did was that your data numbers ALWAYS have to be accurate because two people are sent to do this type of work and if one has different numbers than the other then the main engineers wont know which numbers to use. This actually happened to me the first time I ever did this and I got my numbers all mixed up because I was not organized whatsoever but now I have my own chart where everything goes in order. 

3. If you were going to do a 10 question interview on questions related to answers of your EQ, who would you talk to and why?

- If I were going to do a interview on questions relating my EQ I would go to the Transportation Engineers boss because he has been there longer and he knows how the city of Los Angeles needs major work. I would also go to him because he is the one who has the most experience and has seen it all. I am sure he would be the best person to go to. 

December Extra Blog Post

This is a type of intersection I have to work with when I do mentorship in different cities across CA with my mentor. I am issued a rolling measuring stick and I have to write down the length and width of each one because they are not all the same size. I also have to count each vehicle that is going North to South for about2 hours. After I am done with that task I have to do the same thing for the vehicles going West to East. This is just one of the many tasks I have.

November Extra Blog Post

Here are two pictures of my mentor Antonio Salas. He is a civil Engineer for a firm in Irvine,Ca. These two pictures show that this profesion is not just a office job. You also get to go out explore and inspect new sites. On the first picture my mentor is right under the Gerald Desmond bridge in Long Beach,Ca inspecting the site. On the second picture he is working with AutoCad to design a street and Traffic signal.

EQ

"I reviewed the rule of three for writing an EQ."

 a.  What is the most important factor in healthy weight loss?

- I think it does meet the rule of three criteria because you can find more research on this topic and it is not a yes/no question. It allows you to argue a point because there are plenty ways to lose weight. The wording makes sense and there is no extra words that are just there.

 b.  What is most important to securing a conviction in a criminal investigation?

- I think it does meet the rule of three, the wording could be a little different for easier understanding. also,It is not a yes/no question. This question does allow you to argue a point because there are more than one answer to this. 

 c.  What is most important in creating a hairstyle that best satisfies a customer?

I do not think this EQ meets the rule of three because it does not really provide a framework for studies. there is not much research you can do on this topic, it is more of an opinion. You can argue a point but that wont really matter because every customer is different.

d.  How can an Anesthesiologist best treat chronic pain?

I think this EQ does not meet the rule of three because it is not specific enough and the wording seems like it was just done in a hurry. I feel like the format of the question could have been a little longer because when it is this short it makes it seem like you didnt put any thought into it.

Research and Working EQ

1.  What is your working EQ?

- How can a Transportation engineer design a comfortable means of public transportation in Los Angeles?

2.  What is a possible answer to your working EQ?

- One way transportation can be improved is by using traffic signal management programs using advanced computer software. 

- Special timing is a special technique that traffic engineers use to manage traffic flow and determine who has the right of way at signalized intersections.

3.  What is the most important source you have used that has helped you come up with an answer to your working EQ? 

- The most important source that has helped come up with an answer to my working EQ are the articles from research check because I have been learning things about transportation that I never thought mattered. 

4.  Who is your mentor, or where are you volunteering, and how does what you are doing relate to your working EQ?

- I am currently volunteering at a consulting firm in Irvine,CA with my brother Antonio Salas. While at mentorship I use programs like synchro which help simulate traffic flow and the affect the streets have when more or less vehicles go a certain way. Also, when I go out to the streets and count all the vehicles passing by a intersection tell me how the signals timing should be improved. 

Independent Component 1 Approval

1. Describe in detail what you plan to do for your 30 hours?

For my 30 hours I plan to keep doing my mentor ship. I am going to work with my brother and another engineer. I will try and learn as much as I can from both of them. When I cant contact one of them I will have the other. I also want too see if they work differently or think about projects in a different manner. I also plan on learning how to use more programs and learning to read blue prints. That way if I ever want a job as an engineer I will already know things that most wont.

2. Discuss how or what you will do to meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence.

A way that I will show 30 hours of evidence is by taking pictures while I am at the field with my mentor and making measurements of the sidewalks, streets, and lanes. I will also record myself when using the different programs engineers use to see how the traffic would flow if you were to place different road signs, if you widen the lanes, or if you were to take off or add lanes.

3. Explain how what you will be doing will help you explore your topic more in depth.

Everything I do with my mentor will be used in the future.  As I learn more and more all the things I learn will tie into one another and will help me do the job. The things I learn how to do will help me find other branches of engineering and will let me find more information about this career. I plan on learning as much as I can from these research checks and applying what I learn into the job.

September Additional Post

Here my mentor and I are using a program named synchro 7. Here we are simulating traffic flow. This program covers signal timing software used to perform capacity analysis for signalized intersections. You can increase and decrease the speed of the vehicles and lanes to see how each performs.

Blog #6 Second Interview Questions

Who is your mentor and where does he work?

My mentor is my brother Antonio Salas who currently practices transportation engineering at consulting firm in the city of Irvine,CA.

What five questions will ask them about their background?
1. How did you get interested in transportation engineering?
2. What skills do you think are most important for this career?
3. Do you work more physically or mentally on a day-to-day basis? How did this compare to your college experience?
4. What is your prior job history?
5. Were there any obstacles that you encountered while trying to pursue this career?
6. Do you think transportation engineering is worth doing? Why or why not?

Blog #5 Project Reflection and Working EQ

(1) Positive Statement: What positive thing happen as a result of what you have completed so far?
- After having to read the traffic signal book so many times I finally understand what most of the traffic signals mean and I do not feel lost. I learned how and why the traffic signals are located where they are. I always thought companies would put them where ever they felt like it.

(2) EQ Content:  Pick a piece of research or your interview.  How has it helped you improve your understanding of your topic?  
- A piece of research that has helped me understand this topic more clearly is " Transportation engineers are civil engineers who design highways, airports, and railway and bus systems'. I used to have an understanding that transportation engineers only worked with highways. This has opened my doors to new research.

(3) What has worked for you so far in the senior project?
- Something that has worked for me so far are the research checks. They have helped me understand my topic more in depth and have helped me understand that there are other branches in Transportation engineering.

(4) What hasn't worked so far?
- My mentors schedule has not helped me so far. I think that if I talk to him and tell him how important this is to me he will take this more serious and actually make time to work with me instead of just telling me what to do.

(5) Finding Value: 

(Working EQ) - How can a transportation engineer design a a comfortable means of public transportation in Los Angeles? 

What do you plan to do for mentor ship?
- I plan to help develop plans and programs for the use of land. I will also help create communities and accommodate growth.