Awards & RecognitionChemical engineering professor impresses national engineering education organization

National organization recognizes student's achievments

Faculty member recognized for dedication to students

Boeing—the world’s leading aerospace company—selects BCoE aerospace professor for Boeing Welliver Faculty Fellowship Program

BCoE & MSU Quick LinkBagley College of Engineering

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Special Podcast Release    "Science Guy" visits MSU
Thanks to his energetic performances on television, Bill Nye is known to most as the “Science Guy,” but during a recent visit to MSU he reveled his other passions. Nye is a strong supporter of science education because he knows the future of our world will soon be in the hands of today’s children. While visiting campus, he also took the time to discuss hybrid vehicles with members of the BCoE’s national champion Challenge X team. Nye was given the opportunity to drive the vehicle and inspect the students’ craftsmanship while examining the inner-workings of the car.
Click here to listen.

Momentum Preview    Click here to download and see Momentum before it goes out in the mail. Hard copies will be arriving in your mailboxes later this May.

Student trafficking in civil engineering

Whether missing a final, being a few credits short at graduation or having the dog eat your lab report, college can cause nightmares for students. While these panicked visions may be common across the nation, any Bulldog knows that State students face a Starkville-specific worry that can bring things to a screeching halt-–literally.

This daily obstacle is called traffic and it morphs campus roads into impassable mazes of cars, pedestrians and road rage. At peak times, automobiles can be seen backed up the entire length of some streets as drivers work to navigate the numerous four-way stops between them and their destinations. While many see this simply as a part of campus life, one civil engineering senior sees it as an opportunity to learn and put classroom theories to practical use.

Having spent several years on campus, Zachary Bugg understands the trials facing commuters at MSU. However, unlike most, he is in a position to help the situation. Using research methods learned through his Bagley College of Engineering course work, he has analyzed campus traffic flows and found evidence to suggest a necessary change.

"I used traffic detectors last summer to monitor the vehicles that passed through two commonly used campus intersections,” Bugg explained. “I was able to compare that data with previous measurements taken at these spots. That allowed me to see the traffic patterns and conclude that some four-way stops could be replaced with a traffic light.”

Drafting a paper from his findings, Bugg took top honors at the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Southern District undergraduate research paper competition. Following that win, he will use his civil engineering knowledge to represent MSU at the next level of ITE competition.

Although he is extremely excited to have earned peer recognition for his efforts, Bugg has other intentions for his research that will seem more tangible for his fellow Bulldogs. He plans to put his research results into action by working with civil engineering faculty to draft a proposal for the MSU’s Facilities Management, which he hopes will have a positive impact on campus.

“I can’t really force a change to happen, but I can present my findings in hopes of sparking some action,” Bugg said. “However, no matter what campus decision-makers decide, conducting this research was a great experience for me.”

Bugg, who serves as MSU’s ITE chapter president, also put his traffic knowledge to the test in ITE traffic bowl competitions. He and fellow engineering majors Jennifer Sloan and Di Wu make up MSU’s traffic bowl team. The group proudly boasts that being “undefeated against Ole Miss” equals their being the highest-placing all-undergraduate team in the regional competition.

By: Susan Lassetter