Ricardo Polanco, an Honors student at The City College of New York majoring in civil engineering, is one of 24 Americans selected as Minority Student Fellows by the Washington, D.C.-based Transportation Research Board (TRB), a program unit of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
Born in Manhattan of Dominican immigrant parents, Polanco is the only Fellow from the East Coast north of Maryland State. A junior, he’s one of 15 undergraduate and nine graduate students in TRB’s Class of 2022.
As a TRB Fellow, Polanco and his peers will research and explore ideas and solutions to some of the nation’s transportation problems from diverse perspectives -- a primary goal of the fellowship program incepted in 2010. Polanco’s research focus is the Citi Bike network and bike share equity. He and the other Fellows are scheduled to present their research at TRB’s 2022 annual meeting and connect with TRB’s network of professionals.
The program also seeks to promote diversity and inclusiveness in transportation by increasing the number of underrepresented minorities in the field and in TRB activities.
“TRB is pleased to welcome the 13th cohort of Minority Student Fellows. Since 2010, over 200 scholars have come through the program to present their research and participate in all aspects of our annual meeting,” said Neil Pedersen, executive director of TRB. “These students have benefitted not only from presenting their research but also from networking with and learning from the top transportation researchers and professionals in the world.”
The TRB Fellowship adds to Polanco’s academic honors. The Scarsdale resident is also a NOAA-CESSRST EPP/MSI Fellow from CCNY’s Grove School of Engineering.
About the TRB
The Transportation Research Board is a program unit of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine — private, nonprofit institutions that provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions related to science, technology, and medicine. The National Academies operate under an 1863 congressional charter to the National Academy of Sciences, signed by President Lincoln.
About the City College of New York
Since 1847, The City College of New York has provided a high-quality and affordable education to generations of New Yorkers in a wide variety of disciplines. CCNY embraces its position at the forefront of social change. It is ranked #1 by the Harvard-based Opportunity Insights out of 369 selective public colleges in the United States on the overall mobility index. This measure reflects both access and outcomes, representing the likelihood that a student at CCNY can move up two or more income quintiles. In addition, the Center for World University Rankings places CCNY in the top 1.8% of universities worldwide in terms of academic excellence. Labor analytics firm Emsi puts at $1.9 billion CCNY’s annual economic impact on the regional economy (5 boroughs and 5 adjacent counties) and quantifies the “for dollar” return on investment to students, taxpayers and society. At City College, more than 16,000 students pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees in eight schools and divisions, driven by significant funded research, creativity and scholarship. CCNY is as diverse, dynamic and visionary as New York City itself. View CCNY Media Kit.