- WHAT IS A SUPERSTREET? SARAH OTT HAS THE ANSWER
Sarah Ott, a 2009 civil engineering graduate, is working on building a better intersection.
Ott, one of two Valparaiso University students to win the prestigious Tau Beta Pi fellowship last year along with Robert Schroeder, a 2009 mechanical engineering graduate, is working toward her master’s in transportation engineering at North Carolina State University.
The Valparaiso University College of Engineering chapter was one of only four out of 235 Tau Beta Pi chapters in the nation to have two winners.
Ott is studying the safety aspects of the Superstreet project, which reconfigures intersections in unconventional ways, primarily by redirecting traffic going straight and left to the right and through a u-turn, thereby avoiding congestion found in traditional intersections. It may look odd, but early analysis shows that these sorts of intersections enhance safety.
“The project isn’t complete, but unofficially it’s going well,” she said.
More information on the Superstreet project can be found by visiting http://www.ncdot.org/doh/preconstruct/tpb/SHC/facility/superstreet/.
After finishing her degree in December, Ott, who is from Chippewa Falls, Wis., plans to work in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area.
Ott was a starter and captain of Valpo’s women’s basketball team, and worked on a Costa Rican service project while an undergraduate.
“I had a great experience,” she said of her time at Valpo. “I got plenty of one-on-one time with faculty when I needed it. The professors were always well-prepared. They were flexible. They were willing to work with me. I have a lot of respect for everyone in the department.”
She urges alumni and current students to aim high.
“We have so many opportunities,” she said of Valpo alumni.
