The International Network of Abertis Chairs awarded today its seventh International Prize for Infrastructure Management and Road Safety, which recognizes the best academic work among the winners of its five national editions (Spain, France, Puerto Rico, Brazil and Chile). This award has three main categories: doctoral thesis, master’s thesis and road safety.
The award ceremony has taken place in the Abertis Auditorium in Barcelona, and has been presided by Damià Calvet, minister of Territory and Sustainability, and Sergi Loughney, director of Corporate Reputation and Communication of Abertis and director of the Abertis Foundation.
WINNERS OF THE XVI ABERTIS INTERNATIONAL PRIZE
Master’s Thesis Category
XVI Abertis Prize in the master’s thesis category:
• Abertis Prize for Investigation awarded to Dr. Margarita Martínez Díaz (University of A Coruña) for her doctoral thesis Highway travel time information systems: from traditional to cooperative driving environments. WINNER OF ABERTIS SPAIN PRIZE
Road Safety Category
XVI Abertis Prize in the road safety category:
• Abertis Prize for Road Safety Investigation awarded to Dr. Mario Soilán Rodríguez (University of Vigo) for his doctoral thesis Object recognition in road and urban environments from massive datasets collected by mobile mapping sensors. WINNER OF ABERTIS SPAIN PRIZE
Degree, Master’s or research work Thesis Category
XVI Abertis Prize in degree, master’s or research work thesis category:
• Abertis Prize “Ex aequo” awarded to Mr. Francisco Garrido Valenzuela (Pontifical Catholic University of Chile) for his master’s thesis Inferencia bayesiana de elección de rutas a partir de tecnología Bluetooth (Bayesian route choice inference based on Bluetooth technology). WINNER OF ABERTIS CHILE PRIZE
• Abertis Prize “Ex aequo” awarded to Mrs. Verônica Ghisolfi (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro) for her master’s thesis Dinâmica de sistemas para avaliação de impactos do excesso de peso no transporte rodoviário de cargas (System dynamics to assess the impact of overweight on road freight transport). WINNER OF ABERTIS BRAZIL PRIZE
Network of Abertis Chairs
Aware of the importance of working with academia to achieve social and economic progress, Abertis fosters training, research and the transfer of knowledge between the university and the company. The International Network of Abertis Chairs is the first university think tank with the mission of promoting road safety in higher education, bringing together the efforts of academic partners, the public sector and the private sector. It is one of the pillars of Abertis' steadfast commitment to road safety via its strategic Road Safety programme.
The International Network of Abertis Chairs has been recognized this year with the award given by the Excellentia Ex Cathedra Observatory of the University of Valencia to the various initiatives promoted within the framework of institutional chairs, in the category of "Good practices in the management and direction of the resources of the Chairs for the development of their activities".
The network of Abertis Academic Chairs in Spain comprises those established in Madrid (UPM-Technical University of Madrid), headed by José Manuel Vassallo, and Barcelona (UPC), under Francesc Robusté. The company also has four international academic chairs: in France (École des Ponts-ParisTech), headed by Simon Cohen; Puerto Rico (University of Puerto Rico), under Benjamín Colucci; Chile (Pontifical Catholic University of Chile), chaired by Juan de Dios Ortúzar; and Brazil (University of São Paulo), under the tutelage of Leidi Bernucci.
The winning works can be viewed on the website of the International Network of Abertis Academic Chairs at: www.catedrasabertis.com
