Samueli School Alumni Visit L.A.'s Automated Traffic Surveillance and Control Center

Center conducts thousands of traffic signals and vehicular and pedestrian detections in real-time

December 19, 2005 - A group of engineering alumni recently visited the Los Angeles Automated Traffic Surveillance and Control (ATSAC) Center, situated four floors beneath Los Angeles' City Hall East, which commands more than 3,000 traffic signals, 300 closed circuit televisions, and tens of thousands of vehicular, pedestrian, and bicycle detections throughout the city – all in real-time.

Since its inception in the early 1980s, just in time for the 1984 Olympic Games, ATSAC has become an important component in all mission-critical responses.

Behind its impressive infrastructure, more than 10 of the ATSAC signal systems and design engineers are UC Irvine alumni, including Brian Gallagher (BS ’84), Bill Shao (BS ’92, MS ‘94) and Dan Mitchell (MS ’98), who have provided leadership in the continual growth of ATSAC, as well as help prepare more college students for an exciting career in traffic engineering.

This technical tour is the first event organized by the Engineering Alumni Advisory Council. Additional events are being planned to encourage continuation of networking among UC Irvine alumni. For additional information of future events, contact Melissa Dunn Cohea mdunn@uci.edu.