Photo of Douglas Galarus


Associate Professor
Montana Tech Research Thrust: Computation and Modeling Systems
Dr. Douglas Galarus is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Montana Technological University. Doug has 30 years of experience in systems and software engineering, information technology development, testing, implementation, management, and instruction. As well as, extensive experience as the project manager, principal investigator, and lead for mobile data communications systems, database-driven websites, website design, desktop applications, kiosk development, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), SmartPhone and Tablet PC –based development, and interactive CD-ROMs. Doug's research interests include Data and Systems, Data Quality, Spatio-Temporal Data, Intelligent Transportation Systems, and Applications of Data Science to Intelligent Transportation Systems.

At the Western Transportation Institute, Doug applied technical expertise to the development of applications for transportation safety, including improved tools for road weather management, incident management, traveler information, and data communications. Doug grew a nationally recognized, award-winning program, and supervised numerous students, staff, and multiple labs. Doug delivered and facilitated multiple technical training and professional development opportunities for engineers and technicians. As an Assistant Professor at Utah State University, Doug carried forward with similar research and development, with a focus on Data Science, Data Quality, Spatio-Temporal Data, Intelligent Transportation Systems, and Applications of Data Science to Intelligent Transportation Systems. Now, as an Associate Professor at Montana Tech, Doug continues forward in applying his experience to instruction and research in Computer Science, Data Science, and Software Engineering to students in his home state of Montana. Doug has taught introductory, upper-division, and graduate-level courses. Dr. Galarus holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Montana State University and master’s degrees in Computer Science and Mathematics Education from the University of Montana.

Cirruculum Vitae
 

2017     Ph.D. Computer Science, Montana State University

1995     M.S. Computer Science, University of Montana

1993     M.A.T. Mathematics Education, University of Montana

1989     B.A. Mathematics, University of Montana 

2020 – Present  Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science, Montana Technological University, Butte, MT.
2017 – 2020   Assistant Professor, Computer Science Department, College of Engineering, Utah State University.
2003 – 2019 Senior Research Scientist/ Program Manager/ Project Lead/ Principal Investigator, Western Transportation Institute, College of Engineering, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT.
1997 – 1998 Visiting Assistant Professor/ Instructor, Computer Science Department, University of Montana, Missoula, MT.
1996 – 2003 Director of Applications Development/ Lead Programmer, Information Technology Office / Information Technology Resource Center, University of Montana, Missoula, MT.
1996 Technical Editor, SIMMS Project, Department of Mathematical Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, MT.
1991 – 1996 Visiting Assistant Professor/ Instructor/ Writer/ Researcher, STEM Project, Department of Mathematical Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, MT.
1992 – 1993  Programmer/ Analyst, TRIO Training Program, University of Washington, Seattle, WA.
1989 – 1991  Operations Research Analyst/ Systems Analyst, Education Logistics / Logistic Systems, Inc., Missoula, MT.

Research Interests

My research spans the very applied, with development of mission-critical, production intelligent transportation systems, and theoretical, with the investigation and development of data science methods to solve challenges such as spatio-temporal data quality. My labs have conducted research in systems and software engineering to develop cutting-edge applications, applied data science and developed algorithms and methodologies to address challenges faced by the practitioners who use our many applications. We have also investigated the application of data science methods to estimate long-distance travel times during winter, the development of measures to evaluate dimension reduction techniques relative to data science tasks such as the classification of roadside camera images, and the estimation of delay due to chain-up during winter weather.

Research Expertise​

  • Communication Systems
  • User Interface
  • Internet Technologies
  • Systems
  • Mobile Applications
  • User Experience 
  • Data Science
  • Design, Analysis, Implementation and Optimization
  • Software 
  • Programming Languages
  • Applications

2023             Chain-up Delay Estimation via Fusion of Bluetooth, WiFi, and ITS Data

                      CALTRANS / WSDOT (WSRTC)

                      Role: Principal Investigator

                      $125,000 (Phase 1)

2022-24        NSF – SSTEM (w/ MSU & UM)

                      National Science Foundation

                      Role: Senior Personnel

                      $99,836 (total to MSU), $3000 (personal travel)

2021-23        ASWSC/ OSS / WeatherShare Maintenance

                      CALTRANS WSDOT (WSRTC)

                      Role: Principal Investigator

                      $71,450

Book Chapters
  • Galarus, D., I. Turnbull, S. Campbell, J. Pearce and L. Koon Spatio-Temporal Data Quality in Handbook of Big Geospatial Data, Werner, M. and Chiang, Y. Springer. 2021.
  • Huijser, M., D. Galarus & A.V. Kociolek. 2010. Ch. 16. Current and Developing Technologies and their Potential Application in Highway-wildlife Mitigation. In Safe Passages, Beckmann, J., A.P. Clevenger, M.P. Huijser and J.A. Hilty (eds.) Island Press.
Journal Articles
  • Galarus, Douglas E., and Rafal A. Angryk. "Detecting Spatio-Temporal Data Quality Issues in Weather Sensor Data, Including Identification of Mis-located Sites". International Journal on Advances in Systems and Measurements, v 12 n 3&4 2019. IARIA Publications. December 2019.
  • Galarus, Douglas E., and Rafal A. Angryk. "Beyond Accuracy - A SMART Approach to Site-Based Spatio-Temporal Data Quality Assessment". Intelligent Data Analysis, vol. 22, no. 1. (January 2018). IOS Press.
  • Galarus, Douglas E., and Rafal A. Angryk. "Spatio-temporal quality control: implications and applications for data consumers and aggregators." Open Geospatial Data, Software and Standards 1.1 (2016): 1., Springer.
Textbook Series
  • Billstein, R., Williamson, J., Montoya, P., Lowery, J., Williams, D., Buck, M., Burkett, C., Churchill, L., Clouse, C., Denny, R., Derrick, W., Dolezal, S., Galarus, D., Kennedy, P., Lamphere, P., Merrill, N., Morse, S., Petit, M., Runkel, P., Sanders-Garrett, T., T. Seitz, R., Spence, B., Sowders, B., Tuckerman, C., Wenger, K., Wilkie, J., Wilson, C., Winston, B. Middle grades MATH thematics. Evanston: McDougal Littell. 1999. (Three volumes of student materials with three volumes of teacher materials.)
Technical Reports
  • Campbell, S., Koon, L., Galarus, D., (January 2022) Final Report TPF-5 (241) Western States Rural Transportation Consortium. Prepared for the Washington State Department of Transportation.
  • Galarus, D., Francom, B. (October 24, 2020) WeatherShare Phase 5 System Documentation. Prepared for the Caltrans Division of Research & Innovation.
  • Hoffman, B., Galarus, D. (August 14, 2020) Automated Safety Warning System Controller Phase 3 SOCCS Web Application User Guide. Prepared for the State of California Department of Transportation, Division of Research & Innovation, and the Western States Rural Transportation Consortium.
  • Hoffman, B., Galarus, D. (August 14, 2020) Automated Safety Warning System Controller Phase 3 “Encyclopedia”. Prepared for the State of California Department of Transportation Division of Research & Innovation, and the Western States Rural Transportation Consortium.
  • Hoffman, B., Galarus, D. (August 14, 2020) Automated Safety Warning System Controller Phase 3 Development Guide. Prepared for the State of California Department of Transportation Division of Research & Innovation, and the Western States Rural Transportation Consortium.
Magazine Articles and Newsletters
  • Campbell, Sean, and Galarus, Douglas. "Research Pays Off – The One-Stop-Shop – Traveler
    Information Tool for Multistate Road Trips." TR News 312 (December 2017).
  • Huijser, M. & D. Galarus. 2004. Software for Pocket PC to collect road-kill data. TRB A1F02
    Newsletter, Environmental Analysis in Transportation, November 2004, p. 9.

2019  GEOProcessing “Best Paper” Award, Challenges in Evaluating Methods for Detecting Spatio-Temporal Data Quality Issues in Weather Sensor Data, GEOProcessing 2019 Conference, Athens Greece, February 24, 2019 to February 28, 2019
2018-19  Computer Science Faculty Researcher of the Year Award in the Computer Science Department at Utah State University​
2014 Winner: Best of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Award in the category of Best New Innovative Practice - Research Design and Innovation for work on One-Stop Shop for Traveler Information, ITS America
2012 Winner: Best of Rural ITS Award for Best New Innovative Product, Service or Application – Western States Rural Transportation Technology Implementers Forum, National Rural Intelligent Transportation Systems conference (NRITS)
2010  Winner: Best of Rural ITS Award for Best New Innovative Product, Service or Application – Redding Responder Project, National Rural Intelligent Transportation Systems conference (NRITS)

 

IEEE (Senior Member) and IEEE Computer Society

  • 2007 PACE Chair, R6 NE Area of the IEEE
  • 2006, 2007 PACE Chair, Montana Section of the IEEE
  • 2006 Chair, Montana Section of the IEEE
  • 2005 Chair-elect, Montana Section of the IEEE

Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) (Senior Member)

  • Family: Wife (Jana), Daughter (Rachelle), Daughter (Lucy), Son (Michael).
  • Church: Member of Holy Spirit Parish in Butte. 4th Degree Member of the Knights of Columbus.
  • Ranching: We own a small ranch in Elk Park and raise cattle, pigs, and chickens.
  • Pet: Scottish Terrier named Traxi. I have had Scottish Terriers throughout my entire life.
  • Fishing: I enjoy fly-fishing, ice-fishing, boating, and fly-tying. Unfortunately, I haven’t had time to do any of these in years – not since we lived in Bozeman.
  • My family enjoys dinner and movies, spending time together, and volunteering at church and for other causes. Two of my kids have disabilities, so we do what we can to support kids with disabilities.
Learn more about Dr. Galarus
One-Stop-Shop Web Page

Dr. Galarus touts website that helps drivers find safest route.

Western States Rural Transportation

Dr. Galarus has been involved with Western States Rural Transportation Consortium (WSRTC) for the past 20 years. Learn about his work.

Montana Standard Article

Butte Archives partner with Dr. Galarus's class to help locate gravesites.

Computer Science

Learn more about the computer science department.

KRTV Interview
Dr. Galarus touts website to help drivers find safest route.
Connect with Dr. Galarus.

I look forward to speaking with you.

Museum Building 202
Montana Tech
(406) 496-4858
Dgalarus@mtech.edu