Mississippi State takes first place in the Deep South Traffic Bowl
March 8, 2022
L to R: (Front Row) Xzaiver Brown, Tair Masharipov; (Back Row) Caroline Kiser, Kiara Batson, Dr. Alireza Ermagun, Haley Walker, Taylor Howard
STARKVILLE, Miss.— Mississippi State civil engineering students recently captured top honors at the Institute of Transportation Engineers’ Deep South Traffic Bowl.
It marked the 12th time in the last 13 years that Mississippi State engineering students have claimed first place at the ITE Traffic Bowl. The team was led by junior civil engineering major Kiara Batson.
“Our Traffic Bowl team consists of four people. There are three active members and then there’s one substitute,” Batson said. “It’s almost like Quiz Bowl except it’s transportation related, set up Jeopardy style.”
This year, the team beat Louisiana State University 1,200 to 300 to advance to the Southern District competition. The Southern District event will take place March 25th in Louisville, Kentucky.
“The Southern District level is a national competition. The winner of each district level goes to the international competition which happens to be in New Orleans,” Batson said.
Alireza Ermagun, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering and ITE faculty advisor, believes this traffic bowl team has what it takes to win their next competition.
“We have an amazing group of students who have worked hard and kept a positive attitude, which I think are hallmarks of a winning team,” Ermagun said.
The 2022 Traffic Bowl team includes:
OCEAN SPRINGS—Kiara Batson, a civil engineering major.
MADISON—Caroline Kiser, a civil engineering major.
TURKMENISTAN—Tair Masharipov, a civil engineering major.
BYRAM—Xzaiver Brown, a civil engineering major.
The Bagley College of Engineering is online at www.bagley.msstate.edu and can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube at @msuengineering.
MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.
By Emily Cambre