(The following story by Dan Schneider of the Daily Mining Gazette appeared on the Detroit Free Press website on February 24.)
HOUGHTON, Mich. — Pasi Lautala wants to help get America on rails again.
Lautala came to Michigan Technological University in 1996 as a graduate student seeking a master’s degree in civil engineering. He came from Finland, a country with thriving freight and passenger railroad systems.
He said he sees no reason the United States can’t have one as well.
“I hope that one day, people in the United States see how much sense it makes to have a well-functioning rail system,” Lautala said. “I think you kind of see the change right now. The public attitudes change and the rail is coming back.”
Lautala, who completed his doctorate at Michigan Tech, teaches track design and construction there.
Last fall, the university hired Lautala as director and marked the official establishment of the school’s Rail Transportation Program.
Michigan Tech is one of two universities to have formally established a program, so far; the other is the University of Illinois.
Michigan Tech’s program, hosted within the school’s Transportation Institute, got a financial boost in January with a $33,000 donation from CSX Corp.
“That’s a huge thing for us,” Lautala said. “We told the university, ‘If you invest in this program, we’re going to get industry to invest in this program.’ ”
Lautala said CSX will also participate in developing the program at Michigan Tech. He is looking for financial and developmental support from other companies in the rail industry as well.
The program is on a three-year trial period.
“If in three years … it looks like it’s a good success, then we will make it a permanent part of the university,” Lautala said.
Toward that goal, Lautala hopes to establish rail-related enterprise projects, in which students would partner with the industry to work on real-world problems.
Another goal is to bring rail research to attract graduate-level students. Lautala said he is working on four research proposals. One involves studying ways to connect Alaskan and Canadian railroads.
Lisa Weldon, manager of professional recruiting at CSX, said university programs like Michigan Tech’s are important for the future of the rail industry.
“We’ve actually been working with Tech for the last few years and have seen the program grow,” she said. “It’s a great way to get new engineers into the rail industry.”