UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Jonathan Wood, a doctoral candidate in civil engineering at Penn State, was recently selected for the 2016 Dr. Thomas D. Larson Fellowship, which recognizes an individual who is enrolled in a doctoral program in transportation and who reflects Thomas D. Larson's lifelong commitment to pursuing excellence in the field.

"When I found out that I received the fellowship, I was deeply honored,” Wood said. “Thomas Larson is one of my personal idols. He did a lot of great things for Pennsylvania and the United States to improve transportation.”

The fellowship provides funding for Wood to attend the 24th annual Eno Future Leaders Development Conference in Washington, D.C., June 5-9.

The conference gives 20 of the nation’s top graduate students in transportation a firsthand look at how national transportation policies are developed. Students apply to the program early in the year, and those selected as “Eno Fellows” travel to Washington, D.C., for a week to attend meetings with federal officials, leaders of business and nonprofit organizations.

The conference is designed for students in transportation-related programs, including engineering, planning, public policy, public administration, economics, management and law.

Wood’s research focuses on transportation safety, highway design and public transit, with an emphasis on statistical methods for evaluating transportation data.

He earned his bachelor’s and master's degrees in civil and environmental engineering from the University of Utah.

Thomas D. Larson exhibited a lifelong commitment to the fields of transportation and engineering and to academic excellence. He was born near Philipsburg, Pennsylvania, and attended Penn State, where he earned his bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in civil engineering. He later returned to Penn State where he founded what is now known as the Larson Transportation Institute.