Staff Directory
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Jill Hough, Ph.D., Director(701)231-8082Jill Hough has 17 years of experience in transportation research. Dr. Hough is the director of UGPTI's Small Urban & Rural Transit Center (SURTC) which focuses on research, education, and training for the public transportation industry. She has published more than 35 reports and journal articles in the areas of public transportation, low-volume roads, logistics, and economic development. Her primary research areas presently relate to mobility of the elderly and disadvantaged as well as transit planning and management.
Dr. Hough currently serves on the National Academies of Science Transit Cooperative Research Program Oversight Project Selection (TOPS) committee which identifies and prioritizes transit research needs in the United States and the National Transit Institute Board of Directors at Rutgers University in New Jersey, which identifies and prioritizes transit training needs in the United States. In 2006 she served as faculty for the Easter Seals Project ACTION Mobility Planning Services Institute, as well as faculty for the Community Transportation Association of America's Institute for Transportation Coordination.
During her career, Hough has worked on several projects in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Transportation. In 1998 she was interim director for the Federal Transit Administration's Transit Intelligent Vehicle Initiative in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Hough earned her Ph.D. degree in the transportation technology and policy program at the University of California - Davis. She also has earned B.S. and M.S. degrees in agricultural economics at North Dakota State University.
View UGPTI Bio - Jill Hough -
(701)231-6436
Gary, received both bachelors and masters degrees in economics from North Dakota State University. He joined SURTC in 2002 and has focused on developing coordinated plans for rural transit systems. Coming from rural North Dakota, Gary is aware of many transportation issues facing small urban and rural communities. Before joining SURTC, Gary worked for Job Service North Dakota as a research analyst for the Labor Market Information section at the Bismarck state office. He also spent some time farming and flew a B-52 aircraft in the Air Force. From his experiences in farming, business, government services and the Air Force, Gary brings a variety of practical experiences to UGPTI and SURTC. Gary currently coordinates and conducts training and outreach for SURTC. He is PASS certified and works with the transit associations in the SURTC service area.
View UGPTI Bio - Gary Hegland -
(701)231-5496
Jeremy began working with UGPTI's Small Urban & Rural Transit Center in 2007. He has conducted research on alternative fuels, energy prices, and transit ridership. He holds a B.A. degree in economics and business management and a M.S. degree in agricultural economics.
View UGPTI Bio - Jeremy Mattson -
(701)328-9865
Jon Mielke conducts research on personal mobility issues related to small urban, rural, and tribal transportation. He was employed by the North Dakota Public Service Commission from 1980 until 2004 and served as the agency's chief of staff from 1994 to 2004. He was also director of the agency's licensing division, overseeing the licensing and regulation of grain elevators, grain buyers, auctioneers and auction clerks and the lead staff person on matters involving North Dakota's rail shipping interests in federal proceedings. A native of Grafton, North Dakota, Jon holds a bachelor's degree in business administration and a master's degree in public administration, both from the University of North Dakota. He was the 2007 recipient of the Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute's Agrey Award. This life-time achievement award is recognizes and honors individuals who have made significant contributions to the State of North Dakota, its citizens, and its business community through involvement in transportation.
View UGPTI Bio - Jon Mielke -
(814)692-8405
Jim Miller has more than 30 years experience in public transportation research, planning, and management. He was a faculty member in Penn State University's Smeal College of Business Administration from 1976 until his retirement in 2003. He directed the Mid-Atlantic Universities Transportation Center from its founding in 1988 until 2002. In addition, he was a program director at the Pennsylvania Transportation Institute and directed a number of research and technology transfer programs at both the state and national levels. He is active in the Council of University Transportation Centers and served as its president in 2000. He has had a special interest in rural and specialized transit services and helped form policy for Pennsylvania's very extensive shared-ride program. He also helped more than 25 counties design and manage their systems. He was one of the founders and served as chairman of the Centre Area Transportation Authority, the public transit operator for the Penn State/State College, Pennsylvania community. Recently he completed a synthesis of campus transit operations for the Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP). In his role as Faculty Affiliate, he is assisting SURTC with its various research projects, and is the instructor for a graduate and upper level undergraduate course on public transportation.
View UGPTI Bio - Jim Miller -
Del Peterson, Associate Research Fellow(701)231-5908Del began working with SURTC in February, 2003. He has conducted research pertaining to the small transit vehicle industry, fixed-route development, intelligent transportation systems (ITS) deployment, and passenger mobility enhancements utilizing geographic information systems (GIS) and similar technologies. He holds a B.A. in business management and economics and an M.S. in agribusiness and applied economics with an emphasis in transportation economics. Del's thesis work involved determining optimal procurement strategies for hard red spring wheat buyers based on quality characteristics and geographic locations. Growing up in a rural community, Del knows the importance of a sound transportation system and how it applies to the betterment of small town living.
View UGPTI Bio - Del Peterson -
(701)231-5265
Since coming to UGPTI and SURTC in 2004, Ripplinger's research has focused on routing and school transportation system management, ITS and coordination, paratransit service planning, and demography. Most recently, Ripplinger has been working on a study to identify strategies for improving the performance of a community's transportation system by increased coordination between pupil and other public transportation providers.
View UGPTI Bio - Dave Ripplinger -
Cindy Urness, Affiliated Faculty(701)231-5791Cindy Urness, originally from Grand Forks, ND, is an assistant professor of architecture at North Dakota State University. She received her bachelor of architecture degree from NDSU and her masters of architecture degree from Pratt Institute in New York, NY. She has more than 20 years of experience as a practicing architect. Cindy is leading the architectural team which is working on a prototypical, modular design for a bus stop which could be constructed easily in small urban locations in northern climates.
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Carol Wright, Associate Director of Outreach and Training(701)231-8231Carol Wright joined the staff of the Small Urban & Rural Transit Center in 2006 as Associate Director of Outreach and Training. She is responsible for the oversight of SURTC's Training and Outreach efforts. She has more than 12 years of experience as Executive Director of public transportation for a multi-county project in central North Dakota where she managed all aspects of public transit including rural transit, specialized transit, Dial-a-Ride and contracted services. Her responsibilities included planning, operations and fiscal management of a million dollar plus annual budget and supervision of 57 full- and part-time employees.
Ms. Wright has also served as an independent consultant for planners, developers, architects and contractors for marketing and development. She has served as a trainer and keynote speaker for national, state and local conferences for the past 17 years.
View UGPTI Bio - Carol Wright
Support Staff
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Sue Hendrickson, Administrative Assistant(701)231-7766Sue Hendrickson joined the Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute as a project coordinator working with SURTC and the Transportation Research Forum. She will be providing administrative support including contract administration, recordkeeping, accounting, publication development and other duties. Sue has spent the past 27 years with NDSU working in secretarial, information processing and information technology positions.
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Patrick Nichols, Web Communications Manager(701)231-7718After graduation, Patrick started his career with UGPTI in 2002 as a Web Communications Manager. Patrick focuses on improving the day-to-day operation of UGPTI's websites along with developing new ways to communicate with our web visitors.
View UGPTI Bio - Patrick Nichols -
Dustin Ulmer, Web Technician(701)231-6191Dustin who comes from rural North Dakota joined SURTC on an internship in the summer of 2003. He received his Bachelors degree in management information systems with a minor in computer science from North Dakota State University in the spring of 2004. Dustin is involved with website development, maintenance, and functionality.
Graduate Research Assistants
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Yan Wang(701)231-6191Yan joined SURTC in the summer of 2005. She is a master student at NDSU in computer science. She earned B.S. and M.A. degrees in engineering from Chang An University in China. Yan is involved in research on computerized school bus route analysis and development. She is also interested in developing Web, database and computer security applications.
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Marc ScottMarc Scott received both a B.S. in Business Economics and an M.S. in Transportation from South Carolina State University. Marc's research focus is on transit funding, finance, and management. Other research interests include: Policy & Planning, Transportation Management, Strategic Planning, and Infrastructure Finance & Economics. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Transportation & Logistics at North Dakota State University.
