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Volpe Center Highlights - April 2000

Economic Growth and Trade

Director's Notes | Focus | Safety | Mobility | Human and Natural Environment |
Economic Growth and Trade | National Security

Advance America's economic growth and competitiveness domestically and internationally through efficient and flexible transportation.

Friends of Volpe Discussion Series Debuts

The Friends of Volpe series, which held its first session in late February, will consist of half-day, informal discussion forums on the themes of workforce/education, technology scanning, and security. At the end of 2000, a full-day forum will be held to tie together the themes and conclusions from the preceding sessions, and to examine what these findings mean for the work of the Volpe Center.

Each of the half-day conversations sessions will include two outside technical experts, one or two researchers, and one or two "friends of Volpe." Dr. Richard R. John, the Director of the Volpe Center, will facilitate the discussion at each of the conversation sessions.

The objectives of the Friends of Volpe discussion sessions are to:

• Increase the ability of the Volpe Center to help and to provide cutting edge information for its clients;

• Provide the Volpe Center with new ideas for program development and with an organizational update;

• Provide increased opportunities for the Volpe Center to host, on a continuing basis, an interactive forum for Friends of Volpe and others.

Dr. Peter Manning of the Transportation Strategic Planning and Analysis Office organized the first session on February 29, 2000. This session, which included local experts, was designed to address how the Volpe Center can build innovation into transportation learning along with ways that the participants can develop workforce/education partnerships with Tufts University and the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative. In addition to Dr. Manning and Dr. John, participants included Ms. Maureen Walsh-Sakakeeney, Program Director for Engineering and Technology at Tufts University's Graduate School; Mr. Robert Kispert, Director of Federal Programs for the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative; Mr. Bernard Blood, Chief of the Transportation Strategic Planning and Analysis Office; and Ms. Judith Yahoodik of Battelle (a Volpe Center contractor).

The second meeting of the Friends of Volpe was held on April 13, 2000, to discuss "Advances in Automation and Robotics: Prospects for Transportation." Opening remarks were made by Dr. John and Ms. Kelley S. Coyner, Administrator of the Research and Special Programs Administration. Participants were Dr. Alberto Guzman, Director of Applied Advanced Technologies at the Carnegie Mellon Research Institute; Dr. Grard Meyer, President and CEO of Carnegie Mellon Driver Training and Safety Institute, Inc.; and Dr. Ronald Mourant, Professor in the Department of Mechanical, Industrial, and Manufacturing Engineering and Director of the Virtual Environments Laboratory at Northeastern University. The next session of Friends of Volpe will take place in early May. The topic will be "Information Systems Security."

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