On behalf of the Jack E. Leisch Fellowship committee, T&DI is pleased to announce Hellen Shita, a Ph.D. candidate at Florida International University, as the recipient of the 2025 Jack E. Leisch Fellowship. The Jack E. Leisch Fellowship is a memorial to the outstanding professional accomplishments and contributions of Jack E. Leisch, M. ASCE, to the fields of geometric design, traffic engineering, and transportation planning.
Ms. Shita is a registered Level 1 Roadway Safety Professional (RSP1). As a Graduate Research Assistant at the Lehman Center for Transportation Research, Hellen is leading multiple transportation safety projects. Her work includes evaluating the effectiveness of Smart Work Zone (SWZ) technologies in reducing crash risks in Florida. She is also working on developing strategies to enhance driver compliance and safety along work zones in South Dakota. Her doctoral dissertation aims to identify factors contributing to work zone crash frequency and injury severity along freeway work zones in Florida, a topic critical to improving safety and guiding data-driven countermeasures. Beyond her work at FIU, Hellen contributes nationally as a panel member for one of the ongoing National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) projects on safety.
During her master’s program, Hellen investigated the impacts of converting High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes to High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes in Tennessee using microsimulation to inform transportation planning decisions. Through her work, Hellen has published over 10 peer-reviewed journal articles and has presented her work at major conferences. In addition to research, Hellen is committed to mentorship. She mentors high school students, expanding their knowledge and interest in the field of civil engineering. She also mentors undergraduate students, showing them how crash data analysis can inform the development of effective countermeasures to address roadway safety issues.
In addition to her academic and research endeavors, Hellen brings a blend of leadership and service. She recently served as the captain of FIU’s Audrey’s Traffic Control Team during the 2025 ASCE Southeast Student Symposium, where the team secured 4th place out of 15 participating teams. She has also volunteered in several ASCE events, including student symposium competitions, Miami Dade field days, annual award ceremonies, and the Bouygues International Gender Equity events. Hellen currently serves as the president for the Women’s Transportation Seminar (WTS), vice president for the Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society, and treasurer for the Florida Engineering Society (FES) student chapters at FIU. She also served as the secretary-treasurer for the Chi Epsilon Civil Engineering Honor Society at FIU (2024/2025), and as vice president and later president for the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) student chapter at Tennessee State University in 2021 and 2022.
In recognition of her leadership, service, and dedication to civil and transportation engineering, Hellen has earned awards at the international, national, and local levels. Her team won first place in the Highway Safety Information System (HSIS) student paper competition in 2022 and 2024. They also secured first place in the ITE Sandbox design competition, which focused on developing practical transportation solutions to address climate challenges. She also received the first-place award in the American Traffic Safety Services Association (ATSSA) Traffic Control Device Student Challenge, where she proposed the use of rectangular rapid-flashing beacons (RRFBs) on work zone signs to enhance worker safety. Additionally, Hellen received the 2025 ASCE Florida Section Graduate Student of the Year Award, the 2024 Bill McGrath Transportation Scholarship and the 2023 Daniel Fambro Best Student Paper Award.
Hellen holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Ardhi University (2019) and a Master of Engineering from Tennessee State University (2022). Her doctoral dissertation advisor is Dr. Priyanka Alluri, an associate professor in civil engineering at FIU. Inspired by the legacy of Jack Leisch, who championed designing highways from the motorist’s perspective, Hellen embraces a user-centered approach to transportation safety. She aspires to help make roads safer by supporting the Vision Zero goal, which aims to eliminate all traffic fatalities and serious injuries. Through her work, she seeks to influence transportation policies, promote innovative safety solutions, and encourage young engineers to use innovation to make a positive difference in society.