The 2024 Exceptional Technical Achievement Award was presented on January 9, 2024
Award Description
The Exceptional Technical Achievement Award shall be given in recognition of a project that has a potential for a positive impact on the transportation and/or land use decision-making field that meets the majority of the following criteria.
- Has been implemented, adopted or applied in practice at least once
- Whose methodology, formula, design, etc. are freely accessible to the public
- Promotes multilateral collaboration; and
- Advances the travel analysis field for the public good.
Nominees are considered by a three-person award committee and forwarded to the Zephyr Board for approval. Awards are made at the TRB Annual Meeting.
2024 Awardee
Congratulations to the winner of the 2024 Exceptional Technical Achievement Award: AequilibraE!
Pedro Camargo (middle) and Jan Zill (left) receving the Exceptional Technical Achievement Award at the 2024 Zephyr Reception. Presenter Xuesong Zhou (right). Photo by Lisa Zorn.
The Zephyr Foundation is delighted to recognize the AequilibraE team with a Technical Achievement Award for their development of AequilibraE, an open-source Python package dedicated to transportation modeling. This award underscores the team’s exceptional contribution to the field of geographic analysis and transportation planning. AequilibraE stands out as the first comprehensive tool of its kind, designed to support the modern objectives of transportation plans. By integrating advanced techniques for route analysis, network editing, local impact assessments, and interactive visualizations, AequilibraE has significantly improved the accessibility, efficiency, and effectiveness of transportation modeling practices.
Since its introduction, led by Dr. Pedro Camargo, AequilibraE has demonstrated remarkable success and growth, evidenced by its substantial download rates and active user engagement. With robust community support through platforms like PyPI and Google Groups, AequilibraE has become an important tool within the transportation modeling community. Its integration with QGIS through user-friendly plugins further enhances its utility, bridging a critical gap in the open-source Python and GIS ecosystems. The dedication of the AequilibraE team (including Dr. Jamie Cook, Dr. Jan Zill and many other members) to continuous improvement and community engagement, as seen through their structured contribution guidelines and responsive support channels, exemplifies their commitment to advancing the field.
AequilibraE’s comprehensive feature set, including support for OpenStreetMap(OSM) data, customizable Volume-Delay Function parameters, and multi-class equilibrium assignments, positions it at the forefront of transportation modeling solutions. The package not only addresses common challenges within the domain but also fosters innovation and collaboration by enabling users to contribute to its development. In recognition of their significant achievements and the positive impact of their work on the transportation modeling community, the Zephyr Foundation is proud to award the AequilibraE team this well-deserved accolade.
The 2024 Exceptional Technical Achievement Award Committee was:
- Like Liu
- Sarah Sun
- Rachel Copperman
Board Facilitator: Xinbo Mi
Presenter at the 2024 TRB Annual Meeting Reception: Xuesong Zhou
Project Team
- Pedro Camargo
- Jamie Cook
- Jan Zill
Award Recipients
Note: In 2023, the award updated/clarified to focus on a project.
- SACOG Technical Team, 2020
- VisonEval Team, 2021
- Peter Vovsha, 2022
- Travel Model Improvement Program Exploratory Modeling and Analysis Tool (TMIP-EMAT), 2023