Jaime Angueira

School of Engineering – Civil Engineering

Research Project: Developing transportation system models based on human behavior.

Jaime Ricardo Angueira, known to his friends as Ricky, is working toward an advanced degree in transportation engineering. He is developing transportation system models based on data about human behavior. For example, by determining how people react in certain situations, such as finding out about an accident on their normal route to work, he can help design a more efficient traffic system.

“I like knowing that the work I do can be beneficial for many people in many different places,” he reveals.

Ricky’s project is a natural extension of the research he took part in at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez, where he earned his undergraduate degree in civil engineering. In addition to researching Intelligent Transportation Systems, which combine communication technology with real-time traffic data to improve traffic systems without building new roadways, he was involved in studies to improve traffic flow.

Last summer, as part of an internship with the Federal Highway Administration, Ricky researched alternative sources of transportation funding for the fuel tax, which has been bringing in less and less revenue as cars become more fuel efficient. He formally presented his findings at U.S. Department of Transportation Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Ricky is president of UConn’s student chapter of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), an organization he has been a member of for the past two years. This native of Dorado, Puerto Rico, enjoys traveling, watching sports, and snowboarding. Though committed to his studies, “I also try to avoid getting buried in the books and go out to meet people and be social,” he says.

Biography done by Cathleen Torrisi