(San Juan, Puerto Rico - 15 September 2023)- For the last ten years, the Abertis Chair has been awarding prizes in Puerto Rico for the best infrastructure management and road safety research projects, and starting this year, the awards are focusing on sustainable mobility. Two graduates from the Mayagüez campus of the University of Puerto Rico (UPR), were awarded prizes for their research into transport infrastructure leading to master's and doctoral degrees.
"The Abertis Chairs’ main initiative to foster research is to reward professionals whose studies are contributing significantly to building innovative and sustainable transport infrastructure management solutions. We are proud to say that this year marks the tenth anniversary of the Abertis Chair in Puerto Rico, proof that the talent and competitiveness present in the country are one of the most significant values for its society," said Elena Salgado, president of the Abertis Foundation, who is on the island.
The Abertis Prize for Sustainable Mobility Research, held in Puerto Rico in collaboration between Abertis, the company that operates the Teodoro Moscoso Bridge and Metropistas, the consortium that operates the PR-22 and PR-5 highways, and the UPR, was awarded to research by Ramos López entitled Assessment of drivers’ behaviour and its relationship with worker safety in highway construction zones using a driving simulator, and Transportation Resilience Against Extreme Natural Hazards: PR-2 Corridor in Western Puerto Rico by Molano Santiago.
"At Metropistas we are very pleased to be celebrating this first decade in Puerto Rico and to continue contributing to innovation, education and road safety for all. In the past years our recognition has gone to almost twenty research papers for their important contribution to infrastructure management, transport services, road safety and now sustainable mobility, all essential topics in the efforts we make. We will continue to support academia and motivate our future workforce," said Julián Hernández Rodes, Metropistas' chief executive officer.
In addition to congratulating this year's winners for their research on sustainable mobility, UPR President Dr. Luis A. Ferrao Delgado highlighted the excellence of the research papers presented from the very start, when the university, Metropistas and the Abertis Foundation launched the Chair in Puerto Rico. "Together we embarked on this groundbreaking project to set up collaboration mechanisms and promote research in transport infrastructure management and road safety," said Ferrao Delgado.
Also present at the event held at the UPR head office in Río Piedras were Dr. Edwin E. González Montalvo, executive director of the Roads and Transportation Authority, Mr. Faustino González, president of the Puerto Rico College of Engineers and Surveyors, Mr. Francisco Millán Rajoy, chief advisor of the Economic and Commercial Office of Spain, and Dr. Bienvenido Vélez Rivera, dean of the UPR College of Engineering, Mayagüez campus.
International Chair
The Abertis Chair is an international initiative to give students access to state-of-the-art knowledge about responsible global and comprehensive transport infrastructure management, ensuring that they understand its social, economic, environmental and cultural impact. The main objectives of the Abertis Chair include promoting, always in collaboration with the participating universities and institutions, the application of the best practices available for each activity, as well as encouraging, developing and promoting pioneering study and research-related activities, to help create a more competitive and successful Puerto Rico.
"The Abertis prize is the main activity of this alliance that recognises excellence in research on infrastructure management and transport services," said Dr Benjamín Colucci, director of the Abertis Chair in Puerto Rico.
This alliance with the University of Puerto Rico to found the Abertis Chair is part of the network of Abertis Chairs located in Chile, Brazil, Spain, France, Italy and Mexico, an international community of knowledge devised to share objectives and projects with the aim of promoting a vigorous, electrifying and innovative exchange.
metropistas, (Autopistas Metropolitanas de Puerto Rico, LLC) is a consortium that has operated the PR-22 (Expreso De Diego) and PR-5 highways since 2011 and is responsible for improving, rehabilitating and developing the conditions of this infrastructure and providing world-class services. For more details on rates, services and progress on infrastructure projects, please visit: www.metropistas.com
19 October 2023
The International Network of Abertis Chairs has already awarded this year's prizes to the best research projects in Spain, France, Mexico, Chile, Brazil, Puerto Rico and Italy, whose national awards as well as the international distinction were presented today in the Italian city of Padua.
3 November 2022
The Abertis Chair has presented its 11th International Infrastructure Management and Road Safety Award to the best university research work among the member countries of the International Network of the chairs and the best local work in Puerto Rico.
