CTS Webinar: Asphalt Art and Aesthetics—Research, Guidance, and Community Impacts

Ethan Peterson is a graduate of the University of Minnesota Twin Cities and started with MnDOT in 2016 as the state pavement marking and crashworthy engineer. In this role, he develops and manages pavement marking policies, guidelines, and practices. Peterson also researches and evaluates new pavement marking methods, processes, products, and materials. In addition, he develops policies, guidelines, and practices related to the crashworthy requirements for traffic control devices and temporary barriers. Before MnDOT, Peterson spent five years in the private sector working on various projects related to traffic and road design.

Chris Sagsveen is a licensed professional engineer in Minnesota and the project director of safety and research at SRF, where he served as lead investigator for an LRRB-funded project on pavement art and public roads. He has over 30 years of experience in the transportation industry, including more than 23 years with Hennepin County and 9 years with the Illinois Department of Transportation.

Shirley Shiqin Liu is a researcher at the Accessibility Observatory in the University of Minnesota's Center for Transportation Studies. Her work focuses on measuring and analyzing multimodal accessibility to destinations using open-source data and reproducible data science methods, working closely with state departments of transportation and local transportation agencies. She holds a PhD in public policy from Northeastern University and a master's degree in urban and regional planning from the University of Iowa. She has collaborated with diverse teams of faculty, researchers, and practitioners to design and deliver data-driven projects and research studies across transportation, urban planning, and policy initiatives.

Jennie Meinz is the manager of the Healthy Living team at the City of Minneapolis Health Department. She oversees a portfolio of chronic disease prevention projects and serves as the project director for a CDC grant that includes community design for physical activity. Meinz's team does community-based projects that make it safe and easy for people to walk, bike, and move around the city. Examples include Safe Routes to School with Minneapolis Public Schools, public engagement for the Northside Greenway, the Little Earth and 18^th Ave. S demonstration project, and supporting the city’s Transportation Action Plan and Vision Zero Action Plan. She has a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health and more than 10 years of experience managing cross-sector federal and state grants and fostering partnerships with diverse communities.

Nichole Morris is a research associate professor and director of the Human Factors Safety Lab in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Minnesota. She is also a CTS scholar. Her research focuses on human-systems interactions with an emphasis on roadway safety for high-risk road users. Her recent research has examined driver interaction with non-traditional infrastructure, crosswalk treatments, and high-visibility enforcement of the Minnesota crosswalk law.