Doctoral Student Named 2018 Lifesavers Traffic Safety Scholar

Fangda Zhang, a doctoral student in industrial engineering and operations research, has been named a 2018 Traffic Safety Scholar (TSS) and awarded a $1,000 scholarship to attend the 37th annual National Lifesavers Conference on Highway Safety Priorities April 22-24 in San Antonio, Texas.  

Zhang is one of 50 U.S. and international college students selected through a competitive application process. The Lifesavers Conference showcases the latest research, evidence-based strategies, proven countermeasures, and promising new approaches for addressing the nation’s most pressing traffic safety problems. 

The goal of the TSS program, now in its third year, is to showcase the diversity of opportunities in traffic safety and encourage students, regardless of discipline, to pursue a career in a dynamic field that draws from a variety disciplines from engineering, education and enforcement to communications, business, marketing, medicine, public health, political science, counseling, and more. 

Zhang and his fellow scholars will be honored at a pre-conference reception on April 21 and will have the opportunity to participate in three plenary sessions and more than 80 workshops featuring leading experts in distracted and impaired driving and walking; child passenger, pedestrian, bicycle, motorcycle, teen, and older driver safety; adult occupant protection; vehicle technology; law enforcement; commercial vehicles; roadway design; and more.