ITS Canada Michel Van Aerde Memorial Scholarship for Graduate Study in ITS
2010 Recipient

The Education and Training Committee is pleased to announce the recipient of ITS Canada's Michel Van Aerde Memorial Scholarship for 2010. The award is made through a competitive process to a student registered full-time in a graduate studies program at a Canadian university related to intelligent transportation systems (ITS). In 2010, the recipient will receive $5,000.

Karim Ismail is currently a graduate student studying for a PhD at the University of British Columbia. He earned his undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering at Ain Shams University in Cairo, Egypt, graduating with the highest grade point average ever achieved in his department. He obtained a Master of Science degree from the same university and then a Master of Applied Science from the University of British Columbia (UBC). His doctoral thesis work is on the application of computer vision techniques to analysis of road safety problems. He is exploring the use of video sequences to provide a source of data for measuring road safety. Karim has worked as a teaching assistant at Ain Shams University, and a teaching assistant and sessional instructor at UBC. He has worked as a research assistant at the Bureau of ITS and Freight Security at UBC where he led and documented two projects, one on simulation and evaluation of ITS at international border crossings, and the other on evaluation of automated vehicle identification and weigh-in-motion at inspection stations. He has experience working as a consultant on issues related to planning, safety and video applications. He has co-authored 20 journal papers, conference presentations and technical reports. His statement on the aims and importance of ITS is articulate and demonstrates an up-to-date understanding of the Canadian ITS Architecture. He is a student member of six professional committees and his career goal is to become a university professor. The Review Committee was impressed with Karim’s outstanding academic achievements, his understanding of ITS, his innovative PhD research, his involvement in ITS-related projects, his prolific list of publications, and his very strong letters of reference.

ITS Canada extends congratulations to Karim, and wishes him every success in his graduate studies.

We thank all the candidates who competed for the 2010 award, and invite potential applicants to watch the website for future scholarship opportunities.