Nearly 50 youth and 30 adults rode the New Mexico Rail Runner Express on June 12 for a unique learning experience. Elementary, middle, and high school students from central and southern New Mexico and El Paso, TX boarded the Rail Runner at the Downtown Albuquerque Station to test their newly built Low-Cost Efficient Wireless Intelligent Sensors (LEWIS sensors). Using the sensors and Google Chromebooks, the students took measurements of the train’s position and acceleration, learning how it applies to railroad safety technology.
“It’s a school on wheels,” said Fernando Moreu, Associate Professor at the University of New Mexico’s Department of Engineering, referring to the Rail Runner.
The experience was part of a three-year Smart Railroads project led by Moreu to introduce railroading as a career to a younger generation.
As part of the project, the students (and many of their parents) who rode the train participated in a two-day workshop called Railroader of the Mid-Century. During the workshop, participants learned from the FRA, retired railroad workers, engineers, and university professors. They also participated in hands-on STEM activities led by UNM graduate and undergraduate students, including 3D printing, building a solar car, and building 12 of the LEWIS sensors.
“In the workshop, students were able to learn about engineering opportunities as they apply to the railroad, including research, development, innovation, tracking, sensors, and artificial intelligence,” said Hugh Thompson, Program Director for the FRA, who presented at the workshop and rode the train with the students.
After boarding the train, the students rode to the Downtown Bernalillo Station, using their LEWIS sensors to track data along the way.
“This was the moment that the participants were most excited about,” said Moreu. “For the majority of the kids and many of the parents it was their first time on the train.”
Students also tracked data on their return trip to Albuquerque. “By doing this they were able to understand engineering first-hand because the sensors are in their hands,” said Moreu.
According to Moreu, this is year two of the three-year project. “This program is very well known nationwide in the railroading industry and is being talked about across the country.”
Mahsa Sanei, PhD student in engineering at UNM spearheading the workshop, identifies that interest in the activity has escalated annually since the start of the project. They are looking forward to another year of educating young minds, planning another 2-day workshop in the summer of 2025, and hopefully expanding into the future.
The Smart Railroads project is a collaboration between Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), University of New Mexico (UNM), Florida A&M University, and Stanford University. UNM’s Smart Management of Infrastructure Laboratory (SMILab) works shoulder to shoulder with the Engineering Student Success Center to make this one of their feature projects benefiting New Mexico students and their learning. Students from Las Cruces and El Paso participated under the sponsorship of Borderland Family Ties.
Moreu encourages anyone who is interested in learning more about the program to reach out to him directly via email at fmoreu@unm.edu. Information is also available on the Smart Railroads website and the SMILab website.
Click here to view more pictures from the train ride.
By Riann Martinez, Marketing Specialist, Rio Metro Regional Transit District
