2017 Michael Kyte Distinguished Lecture

Peter Koonce, P.E.

Designing Cities in the 21st Century:
Aligning what we know with what we need
Sept. 28, 2017

The second annual Michael Kyte Distinguished Lecture brings to the U of I Moscow campus Peter Koonce, P.E., Division Manager, Signals & Street Lighting, & ITS Division at the City of Portland.

Peter Koonce, P.E., has been described as one of the most progressive transportation engineers in the United States, dedicating his life to innovative treatments that improve the safety of multimodal travel. He manages the City of Portland Bureau of Transportation's Signals, Street Lighting, & ITS Division and is responsible for the oversight of an annual budget in excess of $13 Million and 43 professionals. He has served as an adjunct professor at Portland State University teaching graduate level courses in transportation engineering. He is a member of the Bicycle Technical Committee of the National Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices and was appointed Chair of the Transportation Research Board’s Committee on Traffic Signal Systems. Peter is active with multiple professional societies including Institute of Transportation Engineers, the National Association of City Transportation Officials, and the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals. He has served on several University Advisory Boards related to transportation engineering and is in his first year as a Board Member of the Bicycle Transportation Alliance.

About the Michael Kyte Lecture

The event honors University of Idaho Emeritus Professor of Civil Engineering Michael Kyte. Upon the retirement of Professor Michael Kyte in December of 2015, the newly hired Chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Patricia Colberg, established an annual lecture in Professor Kyte’s honor to acknowledge his professional accomplishments in the field of transportation engineering and his almost three decades of service as a highly respected and popular faculty member.

The annual lecture has been a success. It is well-received by students and faculty and provides insight and visibility into the field of transportation engineering. The Department’s vision is to eventually offer this event each year both on the Moscow campus and at one other location in the Pacific Northwest. The overall goal is to bring visibility and awareness about contemporary transportation issues to the university community, practicing engineers, and the general public. In addition, it is viewed as an opportunity to recruit and attract students to the transportation discipline and engage those interested in learning more about UI’s programs in civil engineering. The Department has established a fund to endow the Michael Kyte Distinguished Lecture with an initial goal of $50,000, which would provide funding to ensure the lecture will be supported in perpetuity.

Kyte's research focuses on traffic signal systems, highway capacity and transportation engineering education. He received his doctorate in civil engineering from the University of Iowa, masters in civil engineering from the University of California – Berkeley, and bachelor's in systems engineering from the University of California – Los Angeles.