University of Piraeus students heard presentations from experts at Rutgers, and toured the BEAST and other labs on campus.
Approximately 30 “MSc in Shipping” students, along with faculty from the Department of Maritime Studies, visited the US for tours of shipping and port organizations such as the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, as well as relevant research centers and academic programs. As part of the trip, they spent a day at the Rutgers University Richard Weeks Hall of Engineering for presentations from CAIT researchers and partners on their latest resilience, climate change, and maritime-related work.
On Monday, Sept. 26th, MSc in Shipping students from the Department of Maritime Studies at the University of Piraeus in Greece visited the Rutgers School of Engineering and Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation (CAIT) during an educational trip to the US.
Throughout their trip, the students got to explore the US maritime industry, visit facilities at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and learn more about the latest research being conducted at Rutgers and in the Northeast region.
In the morning session at Rutgers, speakers from the New Jersey Department of Transportation Office of Maritime Resources, University Transportation Center partners at Columbia University, faculty from the Rutgers Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and researchers from CAIT’s Infrastructure Resilience Program, among others, presented on their latest resilience work.
Speakers from Columbia University, the NJDOT Office of Maritime Resources, the Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center, and the Rutgers Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, discussed their latest maritime and resilience efforts.
From using innovative dredged material management technology and approaches to protect coastal ecosystems while growing NJ’s Marine Transportation System, to developing digital twins and assessing and monitoring infrastructure most vulnerable to storms, the students were given an overview of resilience and maritime work being done in the region.
“Our MSc in Shipping students got a first-hand perspective of the shipping and maritime industry in the Northeastern US, and got a chance to interact with and learn from some of the decision-makers in this field,” said Dr. Maria Boile, director of the MSc in Shipping Program and professor at the University of Piraeus. “This visit and learning about the different projects and initiatives underway was highly educational for our students and faculty of the Program.”
Dr. Boile also shared work being done at the Department of Maritime Studies and the Quantitative Analysis in Shipping Laboratory (QuALS), from educating and training the next generation of maritime, shipping, and logistics professionals to conducting innovative research.
In the afternoon, students toured different labs at the Rutgers University Richard Weeks Hall of Engineering. They also visited CAIT’s BEAST Lab for accelerated bridge testing on the Livingston Campus.
“It was a great experience being able to meet and interact with the Maritime Studies students, share the latest work from our respective programs, and explore opportunities to expand our current collaboration,” said Dr. Ali Maher, CAIT director. “The depth and breadth of maritime research and education at the University of Piraeus was very impressive. I look forward to finding new ways to develop meaningful exchange programs and collaborative learning opportunities for our students.”
