DP&S Liaison(s): Janine Glathar
Primary researcher(s): Michelle Beiler, Janine Glathar, ENGR100
Date: Fall 2026
Primary researcher(s): Michelle Beiler, Janine Glathar, ENGR100
Date: Fall 2026
Over the course of the second half of the fall semester, first year students in Civil & Environmental Engineering Prof. Michelle Beiler’s Engineering Design Experience (ENGR100) class will work in teams of 6 students to develop proposals for different options for an extension to the Buffalo Valley Rail Trail (BVRT). Each group will be given a different destination point in Lewisburg where their rail trail extension should connect to. In a series of lab sessions facilitated by Prof. Beiler and Bucknell’s GIS Specialist Janine Glathar, the students use ArcGIS Pro software and a set of map layers on elevation contours, roads, sidewalks, parcels, zoning and other data to plan a route for their proposed rail trail extension. In creating the route, students will consider options for how their proposed extension should connect the current trail end to the new, proposed destination and weigh the pros/cons and benefits/potential negative impacts on the surrounding community. Students will need to consider a variety of factors including land ownership and usage, rights of way and direction and nature of current roads, paths, sidewalks, etc. – as well as how their proposed extension might be perceived by community members . Students will create detailed maps in ArcGIS Pro along with 3D printed models of their proposed extension and present their work at the Engineering 100 Design Expo on Thursday, December 3rd.
