Rowan junior wins student essay competition

The International Road Federation (IRF) selected Rowan mechanical engineering junior Allison Daniello as the winner of the IRF 2008 Student Essay Competition.

During an intense competition in which nearly two dozen universities competed, a panel of international judges chose Daniello's essay titled "Motorcycle-Guardrail Crashes: How can the Risk of Severe Injury and Fatality be Reduced?" as the winning essay.

"I was really excited when I found out that I won," Daniello said. "I recently saw the article in print in the World Highways Magazine, and it made me proud to see my work published."

Daniello, a 20-year-old from Manalapan, N.J., completed her essay at Virginia Polytechnic Institute (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, Va., under the supervision of former Rowan Engineering professor Dr. Clay Gabler, who is now an associate professor and assistant director of the School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences at Virginia Tech. Dr. Gabler is collaborating with Dr. Yusuf Mehta, Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Rowan University, on a project to improve motorcycle safety in New Jersey.

"Allison's IRF article makes a compelling case for the need to solve the growing problem of fatal motorcycle crashes into guardrails," Gabler said. "Allison has won a very prestigious international award for which the competition is intense. I am very proud of her."

Daniello will receive her grand prize of $3,000 during the IRF Awards Program held on January 12 in Washington, D.C.

To read Daniello's essay, visit the website www.worldhighways.com.

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