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Krambles Awards

Recipients of 2022 Krambles Transportation Scholarship Awards
UTC Director Dr. P.S. Sriraj, left, is joined by 2023 Krambles recipients: Sajad Askari, Nicholas Riehle and John Rodgers.

Two CUPPA Students and PhD Candidate from College of Engineering Awarded 2023 Krambles Scholarships

Two UIC students representing the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs and one representing the College of Engineering were awarded a 2023 Krambles Transportation Scholarship.

Recipients for 2023 are:

Nicholas Riehle, CUPPA. Nicholas arrived in Chicago after earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2022 from Brigham Young University in Utah. He is now pursuing a Masters of Urban Planning and Policy with a focus on Urban Transportation. He is passionate about safety, sustainability, accessibility and equity in transportation. He envisions advancing public transit to help bring on positive social changes in Chicago through active community engagement.  Nicholas also worked for the Utah County Community Development Department supporting county planning efforts.

John Rodgers, CUPPA.  In December 2023, John completed his Masters Degree in Urban Planning and Policy with a specialization in transportation. A west suburban native, John frequently used Metra to travel to the to city and now lives in Wicker Park.  He earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Minnesota in supply chain and operations. While studying at CUPPA, John helped prepare a transportation plan for Mayoral candidate Chuy Garcia and completed a summer internship at CMAP, assisting on the Plan of Action for Regional Transit. John is passionate about public transportation, believes it is the key to a thriving region, and wants to dedicate his career to improving transit service in Chicago and beyond.”

Sajad Askari, COE.  Sajad has a background as a transportation planner and GIS analyst, contributing to various transportation research projects in Iran. Additionally, he has served as an adjunct lecturer at Shiraz University. With proven project experience, Sajad is the author of many scholarly publications. Currently pursuing a Ph.D. in transportation engineering at UIC, he holds a master's degree in urban planning. As a researcher at UIC, he works on subjects such as sidewalk accessibility data, micromobility, and disparities in traffic safety. Sajad also holds the position of president at the ITE Chapter at UIC.

The annual UIC George Krambles Transportation Scholarship Awards program was established to honor the accomplishments of a legendary Chicago public transit leader.  The program is open to any PhD or Master’s degree candidate or undergraduate student within the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs who is studying transportation and plans a career in the transportation industry.

Students within the UIC College of Engineering, College of Business Administration and School of Public Health who have completed research or studies in public transportation also are encouraged to apply. This year marks the 18th year the Krambles Awards Scholarship program has been managed by the Urban Transportation Center.

Scholarship recipients were announced in January 2024. All submissions were related to some aspect of public transit, such as: Planning, policy, operations and management.  All participants had to demonstrate that he or she plans to pursue a career in the transportation industry.

Applications for the 2024 Krambles Awards Scholarship program will be accepted in September.

How to Participate:

  • Letter: Draft a letter of interest detailing why the candidate plans to pursue a career in transportation.
  • Resume/CV: Submit a current resume or CV, including Grade Point Average. Applicants must be in good academic standing.
  • Transcript: Submit an academic transcript from an accredited institution of higher education.
  • References: Furnish three references (name, email, phone and affiliation).  Two of the references should be from the academic community.

Judging Criteria:  All submissions will be judged on these three criteria:  a) The effectiveness of the candidate’s statement on pursuing a career in public transportation; b) The resume and academic standing of the student; c) The caliber of the references.

Submission Timeline: Students planning to participate in the 2023 Krambles Awards must submit all required documents by 5 p.m. Monday December 4, 2023.

How to Enter: Candidates must submit all required materials in print format to Dr. Paul Metaxatos, Urban Transportation Center, Suite 340 CUPPA Hall (m/c 357), 412 S. Peoria St., Chicago, IL 60607, or electronically as a single PDF document to pavlos@uic.edu.  Questions should be directed to Dr. Metaxatos at (312) 996-4713 or Edward Bury at 312-413-1967 or ebury@uic.edu.

Scholarship Awards: Scholarship awards will be given based on the recommendations of the awards judging committee.

Recipients for 2022 are:

  • Feliciti Crowder, Masters, UIC College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs.  Prior to attending UIC, Feliciti was not an active user of public transit or aware of the value of transportation in helping to improve communities and help build social equity across metropolitan Chicago. An intern with the Chicago Transit Authority, Feliciti noted in her nomination letter that her goal in transportation would be to develop "a socially just, sustainable city where citizens can rely on public transportation, as well as walkability." Regarding the CTA internship, Feliciti benefitted by experiencing "the company dynamic and workplace culture of such a crucial transportation giant."
  • Julia Hage, Masters Candidate, UIC College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs.  In 2021, Julia served as an intern with Equiticity. That experience gave her "the opportunity to be part of a small team who interviewed representatives from national thought-leading transportation advocacy organizations on their initiatives to progress racial equity in transportation." Julia served as an intern in 2022 with the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, where she assisted on a project related to Elevated Chicago’s mission to bring transit-oriented development near CTA train stations in neighborhoods of most need.
  • Brian Larson, Masters Candidate, UIC College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs.  As the survivor of an automobile accident, Brian gained a greater awareness for the value of public transportation, especially in the northwest suburb where he resided.  With his car totaled, Brian wrote: "My ability to take the bus ensured the wider community was still open to me and I was not bankrupting myself to be part of it."  The recipient of the 2022 Reba Malone Scholarship from the American Public Transportation Association, Brian plans to work "towards developing the next generation of public transportation services."

 

Announcement of Winners: Scholarship winners for the 2021 competition were announced in Spring 2022.

Krambles Awards Archive Page

Visit the George Krambles Transportation Scholarship Awards Archive page to learn more about Mr. Krambles and past scholarship winners.