2026 TTI Summer Internship Program

The Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) successfully concluded its 2026 Summer Internship Program on Aug. 3, marking another year of impactful engagement with students through hands-on transportation research. Held over 10 weeks at the Texas A&M RELLIS Campus, the program was a collaborative effort between the Center for Efficient Mobility (CEM), the National Center for Infrastructure Transformation (NCIT), the Southern Plains Transportation Center (SPTC) and the University Transportation Center for Railway Safety (UTCRS).

Under the guidance of TTI research mentors, 15 students actively contributed to ongoing research initiatives within one of TTI’s University Transportation Centers (UTCs). Throughout the internship, students engaged in professional development activities, participated in technical tours and culminated their experience with a presentation showcasing their research findings.

CEM

Established in 2016, CEM is a Tier 1 University Transportation Center led by TTI. CEM focuses on exploring how efficient transportation systems can advance far-reaching economic and social benefits and includes six partner universities. The four students selected for the CEM program explored how efficient transportation systems can advance far-reaching economic and social benefits.

• Rhea Joshi – Motivating Mode Shift in Austin: Understanding Commuter Choices for a More Sustainable Transportation Future
• Camila Cobos – Predicting Erosion Control Performance: Correlating Standard Index Properties with Soil Loss Outcomes 
• David Vasquez – Exploring the Association Between Heat & Crashes: Evidence from Texas
• Diya Bhupatiraju – Predicting Hourly Aircraft Operations Using Machine Learning and Time-Series Models

NCIT

Led by Prairie View A&M University, NCIT is a national-tier research and education center that aims to improve the resilience and sustainability of civil infrastructure systems. NCIT provides meaningful contributions in infrastructure design, maintenance and construction methods, and infrastructure planning and policy across transportation modes. The seven students selected for the NCIT program researched projects involving durability and innovation, innovative technologies and transportation policy.

• Jayden Best – Experimental Testbed Design and Formwork Optimization for Evaluating Hydrodynamic Impacts on Concrete Bridges
• Julian Bartlett – Development of an AI-Based Object Detection Framework for Emergency-Services Drones Using Open-Source Software Tools
• Andrew Reams – Load Distribution of Bolt Groups with Different Variation of Pre Tension
• Eugenio Casaubon – Predicting and Prioritizing Texas Road Flood Closures: A Spatiotemporal Classification Approach for Transportation Impact
• Shameem Monjazeb – Infrastructure-Based LiDAR Perception for Real-Time Wrong-Way Driving Detection and V2X SDSM Broadcasts
• Christopher Chancellor – Concrete Bridge Preservation Materials: Applications of Sealer and Coating Materials
• Jazmine Muniz – Community Cost of Transportation Infrastructure Inflation

SPTC

Led by the University of Oklahoma, SPTC is a regional tier center with a focus on improving durability and extending the life of transportation and freight infrastructure. The two students selected for the SPTC program used engineering, meteorology, and data science to assess vulnerabilities in transportation networks and support safer, more efficient travel.

• Luke Schneider – Transportation Performance Measures 
• Aarnav Shah – Rutting Vs Hydroplaning: Could Rutting be Incorporated into an Existing Hydroplaning Model?

UTCRS

Led by University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, UTCRS is a research center focused on enhancing the safety of railway transportation. The two students selected for the UTCRS program focused their research on the development, testing, implementation and technology transfer of smart technologies for safer railways.

• Annah Trevino – Laboratory Evaluation of Biopolymer Blends for Levee Soil Stabilization
• Kevin Cardenas – Analysis of Railway Fatigue and Crack Propagations