Education

The Railroad Research Group at UTRGV is comprised of twenty-two undergraduate and graduate students guided and supervised by a team of six faculty professors ranging in experience from instrumentation, thermal/fluid sciences, vibration and acoustics, finite element analysis, controls, materials science and technology, and electrical engineering. Every student involved with the group receives specialized learning and training opportunities through railroad industry sponsored projects. Involvement in these projects provides students exposure to research by having an active role in the improvement and advancement of mature technology or in the creation of innovative equipment for railroad operations. Collaborating professors provide support, guidance, knowledge, and wisdom every step of the way.

The student-faculty collaboration has been very successful and has produced twenty-four different publications in refereed journals and rail conferences co-authored with students, and twenty-one Master's theses, all in the span of eight years. Moreover, the funded projects have enabled the training of more than 90 undergraduate and 50 graduate students on various railroad-related research activities. Of these students, two Master's students have joined ENSCO's railroad division team and have been involved in various research projects funded by the Federal Railroad Association (FRA); a fact that demonstrates workforce development. Two more Master's students continued their graduate studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) to puruse their PhD degrees; both involved in railroad funded research, and four undergraduate students are pursuing their Master's degrees at UNL and Texas A&M University (TAMU). The above are a few examples of the great opportunities that have been created through the efficient and effective partnership between UTRGV, TAMU, and UNL which facilitated collaborative railroad research efforts.

There are many more success stories involving alums of the UTRGV Railroad Research Group including a Master's student who went on to obtain his Ph.D. degree from the University of Florida in August of 2011, a Master's student who is currently pursuing her Ph.D. work at the University of Texas-Arlington, two Master's students who were hired by the Mechanical Engineering Department as full-time lecturers, a Master's student who is currently working for the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), and several other Master's students who are in leadership positions within their engineering companies. The multi-faceted experience gained by the undergraduate students within the group has facilitated the process of finding jobs in the industry and/or pursuing Master's degrees at other research intensive institutions.

 

Motto: Committed to Excellence in Research and Development for the Advancement of the Railroad Industry