Satpal Wadhwa was awarded the 2019 Graduate Student Best Paper Award at this year's Annual Transportation Research Forum in Washington DC. His research, which was funded by the North Dakota Wheat Commission, explored the impact that market factors, such as rail rates and farm storage cost, have on market flows. An introduction of his paper titled An Agent Based Simulation Model for Inland Hard Red Spring Wheat to Determine the Impact of Market Factors on Wheat Flows can be read below.

This simplified initial model assumes a domestic consumption volume, based on an historical average, with demand variability attributed to the Pacific Northwest export gateway. Spatial and temporal effects are captures in the dynamic supply chain. It is designed to replicate the real world and improves the accuracy of decision-making in the modeling process. Model parameters are used to simulate the impact of policy, institutional, and market changes. Stakeholders will be able to quantify the economic impacts of discrete factors like shifts of wheat transported to the domestic market and export gateways, adjustments of the rail and truck rates, and impacts of the elevator storage and handling fees. The initial model is limited to a single state and export market. It could be enhanced to present a flexible logistical scenario assessment tool. The ability of stakeholders to quantify effects among agents is especially valuable to local producers seeking to remain competitive in a global grain market.