Originally posted by Carmen+ University Transportation Center
The Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS-Irvine) at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) hosts two programs which expose high school, community college and undergraduate students to the growing field of transportation research. In 2025 the program welcomed a cohort of 10 undergraduate students, six high school students and eight faculty, contributing to 13 ongoing research projects.
Participants are each assigned a research project as well as a UCI mentor whom they work alongside throughout the project. Upon completion of the program, participants present their research at the Emerging Scholars Transportation Research Showcase which provides the students with valuable presentation experience.
“This program is valuable for so many reasons – it makes me dive even deeper into my own work, provides hands-on experience for students and helps me develop mentorship and leadership skills. I’ve learned how to guide students with varying experience levels and break complex research tasks into manageable steps. Above all, I’ve most enjoyed seeing the students grow in confidence and excitement as they contribute meaningful results to the project,” said Shakib Kafashan, a mentor and civil and environmental engineering PhD student at UCI.
ITS-Irvine hosts the Pre-College Research Immersion Program (PRIME) geared towards high school and community college students and Transportation Research Immersion Program (TRIP) intended for UCI undergraduate students. These summer programs engage the participants in transportation research, allowing them to gain real world exposure to the transportation industry. Over the past year the program expanded its recruiting efforts by attending local high school transportation related career and involvement fairs, added remote and hybrid participation options.
Additionally, program participants are presented with a number of opportunities to share their work including two dedicated TRIP/PRIME student presentation seminars, participation in professional and academic event including SCAG annual meeting, CTF educational forum, TRB Annual Meeting and PSR Congress as well as scholarship opportunities.
New marketing initiatives have also been added this year to increase awareness of the PRIME and TRIP programs as well as local and high school stakeholder involvement. A spotlight series has also been launched to celebrate successes of program faculty, grad students and alums.
The experience that students gain in both the PRIME and TRIP programs carry through as they continue on in their education. Last year, all PRIME high school graduates enrolled in post-secondary educational institutions and all TRIP undergraduate alumni accepted graduate school or STEM-related employment offers within two months of graduation. Additionally:
- Four TRIP alumni completed graduate degrees in STEM-related fields and/or accepted STEM-related employment offers in the public and private sector.
- Seven TRIP alumni were involved in or completed internships at transportation-related firms or agencies.
- Three TRIP alumni received transportation-related scholarships from external (to UCI) sources
- Three TRIP alumni were hired to their TRIP research projects after completion of the program.
- Three TRIP/PRIME alumni were noted as either secondary authors or formal contributors to published research
- Two TRIP alumni were hired to contribute to written formal proceedings of TRB transportation conference presentations
“I enjoy working with my mentors, learning about research careers, and having the freedom to design my own product while still working as part of a larger group and solving a larger issue. I particularly appreciated the collaborative culture, getting to work with lots of different people,” said Aaryan Boreddy, a rising senior at Dublin High School.