Patrick T. McGowen, P.E., Ph.D.
Research Engineer, Western Transportation Institute / Civil Engineering
; 406-994-6529
Education
Aug. 2006 Ph.D. in Traffic Systems Engineering, University of California, Irvine, CA
Dec 1996 M.S. in Civil Engineering, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT
Dec 1994 B.S. in Civil Engineering, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT
Key Qualifications
Dr. Pat McGowen obtained his B.S. and M.S. in Civil Engineering from Montana State University (1994 and 1996), and his PhD in Transportation Systems at the University of California, Irvine (2006). He has been a licensed professional civil engineer in Montana since April 2000. He is an assistant professor jointly appointed between the Western Transportation Institute (WTI) and Civil Engineering Department at Montana State University where he has worked on projects relating to rural ITS, transportation impacts to wildlife, safety and travel and tourism.
Employment History
Aug 2006- present Assistant Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering / Western Transportation Institute, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT
Sep 2002- Jun 2006 Graduate Research Assistant/Teaching Assistant, University of California, Irvine, CA
Aug 2000-July 2006 Research Engineer, Western Transportation Institute, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT
Jan 1997-Jul 2000 Research Associate, Western Transportation Institute, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT
Jan 1995-Dec 1997 Graduate Research Associate, Western Transportation Institute, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT
May 1994-Dec 1994 Estimator, VanDyke Construction, Bozeman, MT
May 1993- Aug 1993 Summer Intern, Montana Department of Transportation, Billings District, Billings, MT
Teaching Experience (* indicates new course)
ECIV 350 Transportation Engineering (Fall 2007, Fall 2009, Spring 2010, Spring 2011, Fall 2011, Spring 2012, Fall 2012, Spring 2013), Department of Civil Engineering Montana State University, Bozeman, MT
*ECIV 450/550 Transit System Design (Fall 2007, Fall 2009, Spring 2013), Department of Civil Engineering Montana State University, Bozeman, MT
ECIV 452 Traffic Engineering and ITS (Fall 2011), Department of Civil Engineering Montana State University, Bozeman, MT
CE 454 Transportation Planning (Fall 2006, Fall 2008, Spring 2011, Spring 2013), Department of Civil Engineering Montana State University, Bozeman, MT
*ECIV 552 Road Ecology (Spring 2007, Fall 2008, Fall 2010, Fall 2012), Department of Civil Engineering Montana State University, Bozeman, MT
ECIV 554 Transportation Safety (Spring 2012), Department of Civil Engineering Montana State University, Bozeman, MT
Graduate Degree Committees
Doctor of Philosophy in Ecology, Department of Ecology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT
· Kelly Proffitt (Spring 2008, Graduate School Representative)
Doctor of Philosophy in Fish and Wildlife Biology, Department of Ecology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT
· Michael Duncan (current, Graduate School Representative)
Masters of Science in Civil Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT
· Nours Mohammed (current)
· Levi Ewan (Spring 2013, chair)
· Aaron Berger (Summer 2012, chair)
· Zach Kirkemo (Spring 2011)
· Sommer Roefaro (Summer, 2011)
· Brian Church (August 2010, chair)
· Joseph Staszcuk (August 2010, chair)
· Tiffany Rochelle (May 2010, chair)
· Lili Liang (Spring 2009, chair)
· Zach Freedman (Fall 2009)
· Sarah Karjala (Summer 2008)
· Nabil El-Ferradi (Summer 2008)
· Trevor Iman (Spring 2005)
· Jeff Ryan (Spring 2002)
· Lani Tribbett (Spring 2000)
Masters of Science in Industrial Engineering, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT
· Nurlan Jandarbekov (Spring 2009)
Masters of Science in Civil Engineering, Transportation Systems Engineering, University of California, Irvine, CA
· Joe Molinaro (Fall 2007)
Masters of Science in Applied Economics, Department of Ag Economics and Economics, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT
· Aaron McNay (Summer 2008)
Masters of Science in Fish and Wildlife Management Biology, Department of Biology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT
· Justin Farrell (Spring 2002)
Undergraduate Research and Advising
Undergraduate Advising, Civil Engineering, Montana State University (Fall 2006 – Current) typically 20-35 students per semester. Helped obtain a retention scholarship (AY07-08) for a student planning to take time off for financial reasons. The student continued attending full time and graduated Fall 2010.
Have involved numerous undergraduate students in research projects, including activities such as literature review, data collection, data analysis and presentation to sponsors:
· Shane Forsythe, Civil Engineering, January 2012 – current, McNair Scholar
· Eric Hansen, Civil Engineering, January 2010 – December 2011, McNair Scholar
· Neil Dezort, Civil Engineering, October 2009 – May 2010 (ITE Intermountain Section Best Student Paper Award)
· Cody Glasnapp, Civil Engineering, October 2008 – May 2009 (ITE District 6 Best Student Paper Award)
· Matt Daly, Civil Engineering, January 2008 – August 2008
· Barrett Hubbard, Civil Engineering, Dec. 2006 – Dec. 2007
· Scott Randall, Civil Engineering, Aug. 2006 – May 2007
· William Andrews, Civil Engineering, Aug. 2006 – Dec. 2006
· Cameron Law, Mechanical Engineering, Aug. 2006 – Dec. 2006
University Committees
Intelligent Transportation Society of America – Rocky Mountain: MSU Student Chapter Advisor (Aug. 2009 – Present)
Faculty and Staff Professional Development Committee (Aug. 2006 – Present), College of Engineering, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT
Fellowship Selection Committee (Aug. 2007 – 2009) Western Transportation Institute, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT
Various Departmental Search Committees: WTI Front Desk Position (Spring 2008), Industrial Engineering Faculty (Spring 2007), WTI Mobility and Public Transit Research Associate (Fall 2007), WTI Ecologist Research Associate (Fall 2000), WTI Research Associate (Fall 2000) Montana State University, Bozeman, MT
University Transportation Center Education Program Coordinator (Jul. 2001 – Oct. 2002), Western Transportation Institute, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT
Service Activities and Professional Committees
Institute of Transportation Engineers (1994 – Present), Montana Chapter President (2011-2012), Montana Chapter Vice President (2010-2011), Montana Chapter Secretary/Treasurer (2009-2010), assistant MSU student chapter advisor (2006 – Present), founding member of MSU student chapter (~1994), MSU student chapter secretary (~1995), associate member.
Subcommittee ANB20(2) Animal Vehicle Crash Mitigation, Founder and Co-Chair (Jan. 2001 – Present), Transportation Research Board
Montana Joint Engineers Conference, Organizer of Transportation Speaker Track (2011, 2010).
Paper Reviewer (Fall 2010, Fall 2009, Fall 2008, Fall 2007, Fall 2006), Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting, Washington DC
Mayor’s Climate Change Task Force (Aug. 2007 – Present), Bozeman, MT
MSU Spring Engineering Festival, Organizer of Transportation Speaker Track. (2009, 2010). Bozeman, MT.
Paper Reviewer (Spring 2007), 14th World Congress on Intelligent Transportation Systems, Beijing China
Variable Speed Limit Implementation Technical Panel, Project 03-59 (Jun. 1999 – Oct. 2006), National Cooperative Highway Research Program
Fisheries and Wildlife Ecology and Transportation Issues Technical Panel (Jan. 2001 – Oct. 2002), Non-voting member, Montana Department of Transportation, Helena, MT
Interaction Between Wildlife Ecology and Roadways Technical Panel, Project 20-05, Topic 32-11 (Nov. 2000 – Jun. 2002), National Cooperative Highway Research Program
Galavan Paratransit Advisory Board Member (Jan. 1996 – Jun. 1999), Gallatin County, MT
2008 Best of ITS Award (along with Rob Ament and Marcel Huijser), Best New Innovative Practices for Partnerships for Deploying Animal Vehicle Crash Mitigation Strategies, Intelligent Transportation Society of America.
Key Project Experience
OT Road Evaluation of Wildlife Impacts in Mongolia (2013-2014). Dr. McGowen was a key member of the research team that provided wildlife mitigation recommendations for a new roadway constructed in Mongolia.
Road Planning and Design to Protect Wildlife Corridors (2013-2014). Dr. McGowen was the principal investigator for the subcontract to WTI. The Sonoran Institute led the project which had four primary components, land use modeling, travel demand modeling, future wildlife impact evaluation and mitigation plan, and stakeholder involvement. Dr. McGowen led the travel demand modeling and assisted with the other tasks.
Congestion Management Toolbox (2012-2014). Dr. McGowen played a supporting role for this project to develop a toolbox of mitigations for congestion in national parks. (Sponsor: National Park Service).
Non-Motorized Use in Grand Teton National Park (2010-2011). Dr. McGowen was the principal investigator for this project that measured what impacts a shared use path from Dornan’s to South Jenny Lake had on non-motorized travel. (Sponsor: Grand Teton National Park).
Livability Benchmarks for Transportation (2010-2011). Dr. McGowen was the principal investigator for this project that attempts to define livability for Montana.
Montana Fuel Tax Refunds (2010-2011). Dr. McGowen was the principal investigator for this project which investigated the refund process, specifically refunds associated with agriculture, power take-off units and refrigeration units. (Sponsor: Montana Department of Transportation).
Montana Rest Area Usage (2009-2010). Dr. McGowen played a supporting role in this project to collect traffic counts and build a model to estimate rest area usage. (Sponsor: Montana Department of Transportation.
Developing a Crash Prediction Model for Deer Vehicle Collisions (2009-2010). Dr. McGowen advised an Undergraduate Research Experience (URE) student (Neil Dezort) to develop a model to investigate the combined effect of deer population and traffic volumes on crashes. (Sponsor: NSF through the Western Transportation Institute)
Fuel Cost Parameters in Travel Demand Models (2008-2009). Dr. McGowen advised an Undergraduate Research Experience (URE) student (Cody Glasnapp) to evaluate how fuel costs impacted trip generation and trip distribution. (Sponsor: NSF through the Western Transportation Institute).
Travel Demand Forecasting Model for Gallatin County (2010). Dr. McGowen was the principal investigator for this project that developed a travel model to be used by the Sonoran Institute in their land use projections (Sponsor: Sonoran Institute)
Mendenhall Spur Road ITS: Improvements to Ease Vehicle and Pedestrian Congestion and Improve Visitor Experience (2009-2010). Dr. McGowen played a supporting role in this project to implement ITS to re-route and schedule tour busses at the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center in Juno, AK. Dr. Mcgowen led the development of the traffic micro-simulation for evaluating design alternatives. (Sponsors: Alaska Department of Transportation, Tongass National Forest).
Pathways 2009 Monitoring (2009). Dr. McGowen is the PI for this project which monitored non-motorized traffic (mostly bicycle) directly after construction of multi use pathways (Sponsor: Grand Teton National Park).
Methods of Reducing Collisions on Alberta Roads (2009). WTI was under subcontract to Opus International Consultants, Canada. Dr. McGowen was the PI for the WTI portion of work, which was to provide expert consultation for the wildlife vehicle collision portion of the report.
Using Naturalistic Data to Evaluate Safety and Operational Characteristics of Highways (2009-2010). Dr. McGowen is PI for this project focusing on utilizing naturalistic data (equipped vehicles) to estimate operational and safety parameters, particularly gap acceptance at two-way stop controlled intersections. (Sponsor: WTI-UTC).
Portable Advanced Traveler Information Systems (2008-2009). Dr. McGowen is the Co-PI with Suzy Lassacher. This is a subcontract with CCIT at University of California, Berkeley. This project attempts to demonstrate the feasibility of providing portable travel time information for incidents. (Sponsor: Caltrans).
Adaptive Management Plan Update (2008). Dr. McGowen is the PI for this project that provides an update to the adaptive management plan for the Moose-Wilson Roadway in Grand Teton National Park. (Sponsor: Grand Teton National Park).
Optimal Sensor Placement (2007-2008). WTI is under subcontract to the UC Berkeley (CCIT) for this project. Dr. McGowen is the PI for the WTI portion. This effort includes compiling current best practices for selecting where roadside sensors should be placed. (Sponsor: Caltrans).
Pathways Pre-Construction Monitoring (2007-2008). Dr. McGowen is the PI for this project which monitors non-motorized traffic (mostly bicycle) prior to construction of multi use pathways (Sponsor: Grand Teton National Park).
National Wildlife Vehicle Collision Study (2006-2009). Dr. McGowen is the Co-PI for this study which is currently developing a report to congress and a national users manual for mitigating wildlife vehicle collisions (sponsor: Federal Highway Administration).
Data Collection to Support Transportation Management of Moose-Wilson Road (2006). Dr. McGowen was the PI for this project which collected data to evaluate the effectiveness of innovative traffic management strategies. (sponsor: Grand Teton National Park).
Animal Warning System Effectiveness (2006). Dr. McGowen is played a supporting role in this project of which WTI was a subcontractor to UC Berkeley. This project helped implement and evaluate an animal detection / driver warning system in Northern California (District 1). (Sponsor: Caltrans-PATH).
Roadside Animal Detection System Testbed (2005-2007). Dr. McGowen played a supporting role in developing this testbed which is tested and evaluated different animal detection technologies in a controlled environment. (Sponsor: US Department of Transportation).
Context Sensitive Design Synthesis (2006). Dr. McGowen was the PI for this project which investigated how northwestern states are implementing CSS/CSD in a cost effective manner. (Sponsors: Montana Department of Transportation & WTI).
Special Event Permitting Guidelines (2005). Dr. McGowen was the PI for this project which developed draft guidelines for special events on state right-of-way, such as parades, bicycle races, etc. (Sponsors: Montana Department of Transportation & WTI).
Assessing the Quality and Applicability of Local Travel Demand Models (2005). As a Graduate Research Assistant (UCI) Dr. McGowen played a supporting role in a project that looked at innovative practices of city and county models. (Sponsor: Caltrans – PATH).
Institutional Approaches for Interjurisdictional System Management (2003-2004). As a Graduate Research Assistant (UCI), Dr. McGowen played a supporting role in this project which developed draft guidelines for overcoming institutional barriers to systems management such as inter-jurisdictional signal timing adjustments during incidents. The draft guidelines provide an overview of issues, challenges, procedures and draft MOU’s. (Sponsor: Caltrans – PATH).
California/Oregon Advanced Transportation Systems Showcase #13 Narrows Oversized Vehicle Identification System (NOVIS) (2004-2006). Dr. McGowen was the PI for this project which investigated the feasibility of a system to detect and warn for oversized trucks on sections of highways with substandard geometries. This project involved testing width detectors, developing implementation guidelines, installing VMS with static messages. (Sponsors: Caltrans, Oregon Department of Transportation).
University Transportation Center Education Program (2001-2002). Although Dr. McGowen has supported the education program at WTI over the past decade, he was the PI for this program in 2001 and 2002. (Sponsor: U.S. Department of Transportation-Research and Special Programs).
Artemis Clearinghouse (2000-2002). Dr. McGowen was the initial PI for this project which developed a clearinghouse of information on mitigating animal vehicle collisions. This clearinghouse was later combined with wildlife crossing structures toolkit. (Sponsor: WTI).