Faculty profile: David Noyce

David Noyce (30K JPG)

David Noyce grew up in the shadow of the UW-Madison campus, and received his first two degrees from the College of Engineering. Now he's returned after a seven-year absence to join the department as an assistant professor.

Noyce grew up in Sun Prairie, and upon graduation from high school decided to enroll as an engineering student at UW-Madison. He received his BS degree in civil and environmental engineering in 1984. A specialist in traffic engineering and traffic control, Noyce went to work for the Illinois Department of Transportation, then served as a consultant with several Madison-area firms on traffic and engineering matters.

It was while working in Madison that Noyce returned to his studies at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. He ran into Professor Awad Hanna at a holiday party, who convinced him to return for his master's degree. He worked closely with Hanna and Professor Jeff Russell, receiving his master's degree in 1995.

He then moved on to Texas A&M University, where he earned his doctorate in 1999. He took a teaching post at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, but jumped at the chance earlier this year to move back to the Midwest and join the department. Besides joining many of his teaching colleagues, he knows the traffic and engineering community here and expects to work closely with it with his research.

His research focuses on traffic safety, traffic engineering, intelligent transportation systems (ITS), and driver behavior. He hopes to make greater use of traffic simulators in his studies, including the use of video — taped on actual streets in real-time driving conditions — to augment his research.

"Good luck was on my side when this opportunity came up," he said. "I'm really excited about the opportunity. It's real easy to get excited about coming to one of the top transportation programs in the country."