Call for Abstracts

Western States Rural Transportation Technology Implementers Forum

June 12 – 14, 2012: Yreka, California

You are cordially invited to submit an abstract for the 2012 Western States Rural Transportation Technology Implementers Forum.

About the Forum

The Western States Rural Transportation Technology Implementers Forum (WSRTTIF) is an annual event where implementers of ITS technologies have the opportunity to share technical information on best practices and field deployment experiences with fellow practitioners from across the western United States. The goal of the WSRTTIF is to provide for a high-quality exchange of technical information that can help to support better ITS deployment in rural areas.

The Forum consists of four to five highly interactive technical presentations, ranging in length from 1 to 2 hours each, in-depth equipment demonstrations, and numerous opportunities for networking with peers.

Topic Areas

We are looking for speakers who will give presentations or demonstrations regarding actual projects and applications (not research or proposed projects), with a highly technical level of content and transparency regarding what works and what does not. In addition to the initial solicitation, a special request is going out for speakers to discuss and/or demonstrate a project implemented or improved because of participation in a past Forum.

Speakers are asked to prepare PowerPoint slides to guide their presentation and are encouraged to bring system components for attendees to examine, or use live demonstrations to provide a more interactive presentation. Demonstrations should have equipment on site and be fully functional with enough documentation to clearly explain what is being shown.

We welcome presentations or demonstrations on a variety of topic areas related to ITS design and engineering in rural areas, including (but not limited to) the following:

  • Design, engineering and installation of rural ITS field applications, such as warning and safety systems
  • Design, installation, calibration and evaluation of roadside traffic detection equipment (loop or non-intrusive)
  • Applications of microwave, radio, cellular, 802.11 WiFi and/or WiMax communications
  • Custom IT application development
  • Innovative applications of commercial IT applications (e.g. Google Earth™)
  • Lessons learned with application and development of standards and specifications (e.g. NTCIP, DOT specifications)

To get a sense of the breadth of topics and depth of the presentations covered at the Forum, review a full list of presentations from previous Forums on the Past Forums page.

Submission Instructions

If you have a topic which you would like to present at the Forum, please e-mail the following information to leann.koon "at" coe.montana.edu by Friday, January 20, 2012:

  • Presenter’s Name, Title and Organizational Affiliation
  • Presenter’s Contact Information (mailing address, e-mail address, and telephone number)
  • Presentation Title
  • Abstract (150-200 words about what your presentation or demonstration would cover)

If your abstract is selected for presentation, your travel costs to and from the Forum will be covered. You may also submit the information by fax to Leann Koon at (406) 994-1697.

Deadlines

Once the abstract is received, it will be reviewed by the Forum steering committee. If your abstract is accepted for presentation at the Forum, the following deadlines have been established to ensure that there is adequate time for presentation preparation and review. Presenters are not required to submit a paper.

  • January 20, 2012: Deadline for receipt of abstracts
  • February 3, 2012: Notification regarding acceptance of abstracts
  • March 9, 2012: Deadline for receipt of first draft of technical presentation or demonstration
  • April 20, 2012: Deadline for receipt of second draft of technical presentation or demonstration
  • May 18, 2012: Deadline for receipt of final presentation/demonstration
  • June 12-14, 2012: Western States Forum

For more information, please contact Leann Koon at the Western Transportation Institute:
leann.koon "at" coe.montana.edu; (406) 994-7643; or go to www.westernstatesforum.org