
- Research and Teaching Assistant (2016-18)
- Graduate Student, Transportation Engineering (2016-18)
Polina Butrina Butrina holds a BS in Intermodal Transportation from the Saint Petersburg State University of Civil Aviation, Russia, and a Master of Science in Transportation Engineering from the University of Washington. She wrote her Master’s thesis on Preparing cities for package demand growth: predicting neighborhood demand and implementing truck VMT reduction strategies.
Panagiota (Nota) Goulianou holds a bachelor’s in architectural engineering from the Technical University of Crete and a Master of Science in Transportation Engineering from Florida Atlantic University. She is currently continuing her studies in Transportation Engineering as a Ph.D. student at the University of Washington.
During her master’s studies, Nota worked as a graduate research assistant for the Freight Mobility Research Institute (FMRI), where her research focused on intermodal freight transportation and port resilience. She served as the president of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) student chapter (May 2019 – February 2020) and the vice president of the WTS student chapter at FAU.
Thomas (Tom) Maxner holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Syracuse University and a Master of Public Policy and Master of Science in Transportation Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Transportation Engineering at the University of Washington.
Before his graduate student career, Tom worked in project management for Clark Construction in Washington, D.C. for seven years, where he managed the construction of several educational facilities and residential buildings. He is interested in improving sustainability in the freight transport sector from maritime shipping to last-mile delivery.
Since relocating to the west coast from Washington, D.C., Tom and his wife have traveled to many National Parks for camping trips.
Tom was awarded a fellowship from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. At Syracuse University, he was awarded the K.L. Lui Memorial Award by the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering for student organization leadership and community service and was an SU Chancellor’s Scholar. He remains involved with SU as a member of the College of Engineering Young Alumni Board.
Manali Sheth holds a Bachelors degree in Ethnomusicology from UCLA and a Master of Urban Planning, with a focus on Transportation, from the University of Washington.
Gabriela Girón-Valderrama holds a BS in Civil Engineering from the Technological University of Panama and an MS in Civil Engineering (Transportation Track) from the University of Washington. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Transportation Engineering from the University of Washington as well as serving as a research assistant for the Urban Freight Lab. She works for the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) as an Urban Freight Coordinator.
She is a member of the Urban Freight Transportation Committee (AT025) of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Transportation Research Board (TRB).