Graduate Students

Current Graduate Students

PhD Candidate, Materials Science and Engineering
Karl is working on “Austempered Ductile Iron (ADI) for Railroad Wheels“ , funded by NURail. His Ph.D. thesis concentrated on the ADI properties, investigating the potential effects of on-tread braking on the microstructure and properties of ADI railroad wheels.

Past Graduate Students

Sharma & Associates
Hamed worked on “Capacity Improvement Along the U.S. Shared-Use Corridors by Applying Timetable and Operational Management Techniques “ , funded by NURail. He was also a co-PI for another project, Evaluating the Use of Operational Management Techniques for Capacity Improvements on Shared-Use Rail Corridors. The project started in September, 2014, and was funded by the Center for Freight and Intermodal Research and Education (CFIRE). His Ph.D. thesis was closely aligned with project work and evaluated different U.S.
Design Engineer, Hanson Professional Services - MS Graduate (2009), Civil Engineering
Shane Ferrell became the first graduate of the Rail Transportation Program (RTP) at Michigan Technological University (Michigan Tech). He received his BS in Civil Engineering from Michigan Tech in 2008 and was awarded a MS in Civil Engineering with the completion of his thesis “Maintaining Stability Beneath Cold Climate Transportation Infrastructure with Special Emphasis on Railroads” in August 2009.
Design Engineer, HDR, Inc. - MS Graduate (2009), Civil Engineering
Justin Hicks graduated from the Michigan Tech Rail Transportation Program (RTP) in December 2009 with a MS degree in Civil Engineering. In Justin’s words “he got hooked on rail” after attending one informational meeting for the Summer in Finland Program during his freshman year.
Staff Engineer, Engineered Rail Solutions, LLC - MS Graduate (2014), Civil Engineering
Irfan Rasul was an International student from Bangladesh, where he finished his B.S. in Civil Engineering from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET). Irfan completed his MS in Civil Engineering at Michigan Tech, with an emphasis in transportation. His course work included rail, modeling and GIS related courses.
Sharma & Associates, Inc
Hamed Pouryousef graduated from Michigan Technological University (MTU) in spring 2015 with PhD in Civil Engineering focusing on train scheduling and capacity analysis areas using optimization and simulation models. While studying at MTU he contributed in several research projects under Dr. Pasi Lautala’s supervision including development of a web-based education and training platform for high speed rail workforce in the U.S., sponsored by FRA.
TTCI
During my four years of undergrad in Metallurgical Engineering at Jadavpur University in my hometown of Kolkata, India, I did an internship in a steel foundry where I worked on designing molds of locomotive wheels, side frames and bolsters of freight cars and worked in the metallurgy lab and steel melt shop. Then after my undergrad, I worked as a technical engineer in Vesuvius, India for two years before coming to Michigan Tech to pursue my MS and PhD. At Vesuvius, I worked on manufacturing of refractory used in continuous casting of steel.