Student engagement and support

Students are integral parts of research teams at HSRC. They assist with road safety research and bring fresh perspective and new tools to projects. Student engagement also helps fulfill HSRC’s mission by preparing the future workforce to improve the safety, sustainability, and efficiency of all surface transportation modes.

Disparities in the built environment, pedestrian safety, and micromobility are three current focus areas getting the benefit of this student researcher point of view. Here’s more about a few of HSRC’s current student researchers and their projects:

  • Bridgette Bavon, a second-year master’s student in UNC’s Department of City and Regional Planning, recently won an award for her transportation planning summer internship. At HSRC Bridgette focuses on safe routes to school projects.
  • Keyshawn Jamaal Henry, HSRC Graduate Research Assistant, UNC School of Government Development Finance Initiative, worked on a project to measure active travel over time in Bentonville, Arkansas, by calculating bicycle and pedestrian miles traveled over the network and assessing where new count sites should be established.
  • Paige Carter, HSRC Graduate Research Assistant, UNC School of Government Master of Public Administration Program, worked on a project examining financing tools available to local governments for active transportation infrastructure.

Other current students:

Harleigh Markowitz
Luke Neuroth
Amisha Sharma

Recent HSRC research areas with significant student involvement include how local governments are engaging youth, Vision Zero, and speed safety cameras in North Carolina.

“Through my work with HSRC, I have strengthened my ability to communicate with the public, engage communities in safety initiatives, conduct research, and translate findings into accessible information. After graduation, I plan to use these skills to help communities understand how effective planning can create safer, stronger cities and towns.”

Bridgette Bavon
 

Supporting independent student research

Two women standing in front of research posters. 

Supporting students’ research interests, both as part of a course and as independent efforts, is another way HSRC advances the University’s research mission. HSRC staff often participate in student brainstorming sessions providing subject matter expertise on transportation topics and help students get access to and understand datasets that can be used for course projects and research. HSRC promotes student work in a variety of ways:

  • Highlighting student research at conferences and events (such as UNC Research Week) including through posters and lightning talks
  • Connecting students with networking opportunities through professional associations across engineering, planning, health, and related sectors
  • Serving as a hub for transportation and injury data and research ideas
  • Recognizing student excellence through awards and fellowships
  • Co-authoring studies 
  • Instructing courses related to the planning and public health aspects of road safety

 

Three people stand indoors holding certificates for first, second, and third place awards. They are posing in front of a stage backdrop and smiling at the camera.

Reflections from past students

Between 2021 and 2025, HSRC worked with more than 70 undergraduate, masters, and PhD students from different UNC departments and programs. Here some highlights of past HSRC student work:

  • Nandi Taylor worked on several HSRC projects when she was a student in the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health Department of Epidemiology. She was named a 2025 Lifesavers Traffic Safety Scholar. She earned her PhD in 2025, with HSRC staff and data support for her research and dissertation.
  • HSRC hosted a student-led research presentation on Thursday, October 26, 2023. The session, “Critical climate impacts on transportation: NC student researchers explore climate change, transportation resiliency and safety,” featured three student researchers, including former HSRC scholarship winner Thomas Thelen. This presentation was HSRC’s contribution to UNC’s University Research Week, which was themed “A Climate of Change at Carolina” this year.
  • Kristin Podsiad was an HSRC graduate research assistant and a Dual Master of Public Health and Master of City and Regional Planning student at UNC Chapel Hill. In her Summer 2022 practicum, Kristin led a multidisciplinary team to build micromodes.org, the first global surveillance system to collect data on fatal e-scooter injuries.
  • Jen Farris, a former HSRC graduate research assistant and Dual Master of Public Health and Master of City and Regional Planning student, contributed to the initial stages of a project funded by the AAA Foundation for Road Safety to explore factors leading to the increase in pedestrian fatalities on urban arterial roadways.

If you are a student interested in working with HSRC, or you know of a student who would be a good fit, email HSRC’s student contact Jennifer Palcher-Silliman at silliman@hsrc.unc.edu.

A group of people stand around a table with a model of intersecting roads, placing small objects and cars on the setup.

K-12

In recent years, HSRC has also expanded educational activities targeted at K-12 students. Key examples include: 

  • HSRC researchers traveled to the campus of the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in July 2024 to mentor high school students participating in the Summer High School Transportation Institute.  
  • In the falls of 2023 and 2024 HSRC staff hosted interactive booths at the Durham Public Schools Acceler8 Career Exploration Days. Approximately 2,000 students each year got the chance to design their own safe roads, see a crash simulation with dolls and skateboards, and answer transportation trivia questions, all while learning about careers in transportation safety.  
  • HSRC hosted a table at the April 2022 UNC Science Expo, an in-person event held on the UNC campus with dozens of booths featuring family-focused science activities. Kids were invited to use miniature road design features to plan a safe path to school along a busy street.  
  • HSRC researchers conducted interactive safety activities at local Chapel Hill schools including at Smith Middle School’s STEAM Day in 2024 and 2025, and at Chapel Hill High School’s Tigerfest in 2023.