SRU’s Solano featured on this week’s ‘Infinite Opportunities’
(From left) Matt Hart, an accounting major from Cambridge Springs and Chad Bende, an accounting major from Delmont, present their research on bus routes at a Butler Transit Authority meeting. The student’s analysis of the authority’s Automatic Vehicle Data will be featured on the April 9 episode of “Infinite Opportunities.”
April 5, 2017
HARRISBURG, Pa. - Research conducted by Slippery Rock University's Roger Solano, associate professor in the School of Business, will be featured on the April 9 episode of "Infinite Opportunities" as the program explores putting knowledge into practice at State System institutions.
The show airs each Sunday at 9:30 a.m. on the Pennsylvania Cable Network. The half-hour, public affairs program features roundtable discussions with faculty, staff, students and alumni from the 14 State System universities talking about a range of higher education issues. State System Chancellor Frank Brogan moderates the weekly discussions.
Solano's research, conducted in conjunction with Matt Hart, an accounting major from Cambridge Springs, and Dong Nguyen, a finance major from Vietnam, analyzed Automatic Vehicle Location data from the Butler Transit Authority. The group's findings helped improve computer tracking of buses and on-time performance.
AVL uses GPS to track the location of fleet vehicles, noting such factors as arrival and departure times, ground speed and adherence to route specifications. The system provides the BTA with real-time data of its operation.
SOLANO
The BTA approached Solano for help in analyzing data points from the authority's Route 1, which includes Butler City, Pullman Square and the VA Butler Healthcare site. The route generates 86,000 data records per year with the research team having access to information from 2013-2015.
The group found a high number of unreported data points by the AVL. After identifying the problem, SRU's research group offered a system configuration solution to the BTA that drastically improved data collection accuracy.
Additionally, SRU researchers determined a number of busses were departing the terminal behind schedule. The BTA has since made in-house adjustments to improve departure times, while Solano's group continues to study authority schedules to see if further changes could be made in order to improve on-time performance.
This week's episode of "Infinite Opportunities" will also include video visits to the campuses of California and Edinboro universities; and a panel discussion featuring Jesse Mancuso, a senior digital forensics major at Bloomsburg University, who will talk about the internship he served last summer with CrowdStrike, an incident response company.
In addition to his internship at CrowdStrike, Mancuso also has participated in an educational project involving a large aerospace company while at BU.
Scott Inch, a professor in BU's Department of Mathematical & Digital Sciences, also will appear on the program to discuss the project, which involved teams of students gathering information about the company, which has hired several BU graduates, to make available online.
Also appearing as part of this week's panel discussion will be Rhonda Gifford, director of the Career & Professional Development Center at California University. Gifford will discuss the top skills employers seek when hiring graduates and how Cal U. and all State System career centers are helping students prepare for successful careers.
MEDIA CONTACT: Robb King | 724.738.2199 | robert.king@sru.edu