Engineering Services Functional Group

Technical Committee 24 - Education & Professional Development

This committee is responsible for maintaining liaison with the academic community and promoting the need for specific railway engineering education among that community. They are also responsible for developing programs encouraging student interest in railway engineering and the continuing education of engineers employed in the railway industry. This committee is also dedicated to adding value to the members by providing a working forum for Maintenance of Way training professionals to develop and exchange ideas to increase safety, quality and productivity; thereby effectively addressing the challenges of the industry.

Chair

John G. Green, PhD, PE

Lecturer and Researcher

California State University-Fresno

Email: johngreen@mail.fresnostate.edu

Vice Chair

Matthew E. Chrapek, PE

Director of Structures Inspection

Genesee & Wyoming Inc.

Email: matthew.chrapek@gwrr.com

Secretary

Nicolas R. Kern, PE

Kimley-Horn

Email: nicolas.kern@kimley-horn.com

Major Projects

  • AREMA Scholarships
  • Mentoring
  • Meet the Next Generation Event at the Annual Conference
  • Introduction to Practical Railway Engineering Seminar
  • Track Alignment Design Seminar
  • Railway Engineering Education Symposium

Meetings

In-person meetings are held in various locations throughout North America in the Winter, Summer, and in association with the Annual Conference. Meetings and conference calls are open to anyone interested in attending. Please contact Nicholas Kern (Secretary) via the above email for more information.

Practical Guide to Railway Engineering

The third revision to the Practical Guide to Railway Engineering (PGRE) was published in late 2019 and is available for purchase here. Committee 24 is responsible for the periodic update of this publication.

Subcommittees and Current Assignments

Subcommittee A: Recommendations for Further Investigation and Research.

Subcommittee 1: Railway Engineer Development. This subcommittee is charged with development of programs to promote education and knowledge opportunities for both the railway engineer and the railway engineering supervisor.

C1-9-03 - Mentoring Program. This assignment is a demonstration project charged with developing a database of AREMA members interested in mentoring a young engineer or student as well as young engineers or students interested in being mentored. Potential matches will be suggested and occasional follow-up will be conducted to ensure that the match is beneficial to both parties. Ongoing assignment.

C1-6-05 - Introduction to Practical Railway Engineering Seminar. Develop, field, and maintain a two-day seminar to compliment the work of the Practical Guide to Railway Engineering book. A subset of this assignment is to develop a way-ahead to ensure exposure to the widest audience, and serves both the domestic and international markets. Ongoing assignment.

C1-1-09 - Track Alignment Design Seminar. Develop curriculum and materials for a new, comprehensive track alignment design seminar to supplement the IPRE seminar, then conduct seminars on a periodic basis. Ongoing assignment.

C1-1-10 - Webinar Development. Develop a modular course structure for presentation in a webinar format as stand alone units or as part of a more structured sequence of courses. Coordinate with other AREMA Technical Committees to discuss existing content and identify subject matter and presentations that could be used for webinars. Ongoing assignment.

Subcommittee 2: Student & Faculty Relations. This subcommittee is charged with promoting interaction between industry and the academic communities as well as making recommendations to the Board of Directors regarding the AREMA Education Foundation.

C2-2-82 - AREMA Scholarships - charged with judging student AREMA scholarship applications and selecting winner(s). Ongoing assignment.

C2-10-03 - Meet the Next Generation Event at the Annual Conference, which will match graduating students with interested potential employers in attendance at the Annual Conference. Ongoing assignment.

C2-11-03 - Student Speakers - charged with promoting formal and informal presentations by AREMA members to university classes and associated affiliations. This group will also be charged with assisting students or student groups in the formation of student AREMA chapters. Ongoing assignment.

C2-01-06 - Student Chapter Coordinator - charged with maintaining liaison with AREMA student chapters. Ongoing assignment.

C2-01-14 - Engineering Week Outreach Program. Develop and Field an Engineers Week (EWeek) Outreach program. Ongoing assignment.

Subcommittee 3: University Course Curriculum - will be charged with making recommendations to the academic community of courseware applicable to a career in railway engineering including potential short courses offered to the railway engineering community at large.

C3-1-09 - Railway Engineering Education Symposium. Develop and maintain materials for a biennial gathering of university faculty to present and discuss opportunities to incorporate railway engineering curriculum as well as research projects to serve the industry. Ongoing assignment. 

Administrative Subcommittee: This Subcommittee is charged with supporting the Secretary with such tasks as checking the Committee's web pages for errors, publishing information on committee activities, publishing presentation templates and standards, recruiting and maintaining membership, and reviewing the Committee's by-laws.