University of Maryland team wins IANA challenge

A University of Maryland undergraduate team has won the Intermodal Association of North America's (IANA) seventh Intermodal EXPO academic challenge in Long Beach, California.

The competition required students to respond to a case study challenge focused on mitigating congestion at marine terminals. A panel of IANA board members evaluated the teams' presentations and selected the winning university.

Undergraduate teams from six universities competed in the event. The University of Maryland's win marked the school's third victory, IANA officials said in a press release.

"The academic challenge provides students with an opportunity to address real-world intermodal problems and to advance their solutions before a panel of industry experts," said Tom Corsi, professor and director of the Supply Chain Fellows Program at the University of Maryland's Smith School of Business.

The University of Maryland's team members were Andrew Keenan, Taylor Judge and Nicholas Giannascoli.

All schools participating in the challenge were IANA scholarship recipients, according to the release. Since the association's scholarship program launched in 2007, IANA has awarded more than $1.8 million to support students in programs focused on freight and intermodal transportation.