Tristin Hatch, a Viterbi School undergraduate studying at the National University of Ireland, Galway, has received a National Logistics and Transport Award.
Ireland's Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport annually bestows this distinction on the originators of ideas judged to make the most significant potential contribution to some aspect of the transport industry in the island nation, after evaluating entries in four categories.
Senator Rónán Mullen announced the awards at a special ceremony at NUI Galway on May 12.
Hatch's research, on "Design of a handheld bus tracking device using smartcard technology," took the prize in the Road category. She will be a junior in the Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering when she returns to USC in fall.
Senator Rónán Mullen presents Tristin Hatch her award on the Galway campus of the National University of Ireland.
"Tristan Hatch winning a national project competition in Ireland testifies to her intellectual gifts, to the quality of her USC education in the Epstein Department, the Viterbi School and the National University of Ireland, and to the benefits that flow from USC's leadership as the nation's dominant international research university," said Epstein Department Chair James E. Moore.
"The world really is flat: USC attracts the best students the world has to offer, and their USC experience equips students like Tristan to achieve anywhere in the world."
All the other award winners were women and another American, Lauren Paul of Marquette University, won in the Air category.
Ms Mary Dempsey of the NUI Galway College of Engineering and Informatics taught the Logistics and Transportation module the winning students took. “The students’ abilities to innovate are reflected in the attainment of these prestigious Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport awards," she said. "I am extremely proud of our students and I acknowledge the hard work, dedication and commitment that each student makes in the Logistics and Transport area. University education continues in its mission to develop innovative skills and talent which is vital to the development of our economy.”
Professor Padraic O’Donoghue, Dean of Engineering and Informatics at NUI Galway, said: “I would like to warmly congratulate all four winners of these prestigious awards. This reflects well on the quality of the student body at NUI Galway, the supervision of the lecturing staff and the range of relevant educational programmes that we provide. It is particularly noteworthy that two of the winners are visiting students from well known US universities and this illustrates the international nature of the educational experience at NUI Galway.”
