John S. Adams Award

About the Award

The John S. Adams Award for Excellence in Transportation Research and Education is given to University of Minnesota graduate students demonstrating outstanding academic achievement in policy and planning fields. Up to two students will be honored each year (one master’s and one doctoral candidate). The award is named in honor of Professor Emeritus John S. Adams, a significant contributor to transportation-related research, education, and outreach activities and a long-time supporter of CTS.

Adams Award requirements

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2013 Winner

Jessica Schoner is a master’s candidate in civil engineering and urban and regional planning. She is advised by civil engineering professor David Levinson and Humphrey School assistant professor Jason Cao.

Cao said Schoner is "smart, productive, self-motivated, and hard-working, and she well deserves this award." He also thanked her for her contributions in research and education at the Humphrey School. Levinson added that a term paper by Schoner was accepted for publication in a national transportation journal without revision—something "almost unheard of in academics on the first round."

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Past Winners

2012

Qian Chen, Humphrey School of Public Affairs master's program and Department of Statistics master's program (Advisor: Yingling Fan)  

David Smith, doctoral candidate in the Department of Applied Economics (Advisor: Frances Homans) 

2011

David Coyle, master's candidate in the Department of Applied Economics

Pavithra Parthasarathi, candidate in the Doctorate of Civil Engineering

2010

Zhiyi Xu, candidate in the Master of Urban and Regional Planning Program at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs

Shanjiang Zhu, candidate in the Doctorate of Civil Engineering and candidate in the Master of Science in Applied Economics

2009

Katie Roth, candidate in the Master of Urban and Regional Planning Program at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs