Volpe Center: Volpe Center Highlights

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Volpe Center Highlights - November/December 2000

Director's Notes

Volpe's Growing Role in Global Transportation

The Volpe Center has an increasing role in global transportation issues. In the Highlights for January 2000, I wrote about the expansion of our work to the international arena. This trend continues and is reflected in much of our recent work.

Our approach is flexible. The Volpe Center shares its technical knowledge by being able to respond to specific challenges such as the reconstruction work begun last year in Honduras. The Center also makes its technological advances available to the general global community. For example, new Global Positioning System technology has been made available to other countries including Australia and several European nations. We work with our international colleagues by developing collaborative agreements and participating in international working groups. We also host meetings for various transportation groups from all over the world and receive many transportation delegations from other countries.

On behalf of the DOT, I recently signed an agreement with the Transport Research Centre (TRC) of the Dutch Ministry. The agreement renews DOT's pledge to work together with TRC on topics such as human factors and safety research. The recent visit by a Dutch delegation from the TRC, which is reported in this issue, is witness to the thriving relationship that benefits both countries.

Another recent visit by a group of Japanese scientists and industrialists hosted by my office and the Policy and Technology Analysis Division demonstrated the value of technical exchanges between researchers across international boundaries. As the Volpe Center's Director, I was pleased to provide an overview of the Center's work and to moderate technical presentations on tunneling technology by both Japanese and U.S. representatives.

Other recent international guests have included representatives from the Railway Safety Review Committee of India who were hosted by the Volpe Center's Office of Safety and Security. This delegation had requested a visit to the Center after hearing about the Center's wide variety of railroad safety research topics.

Mr. Gregg Fleming, Chief of the Safety and Environmental Technology Division, hosted a joint meeting of sub groups of the Society of Automotive Engineers and the International Civil Aviation Organization. Participants included representatives from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Germany, France, Japan, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The purpose of this meeting was to share research associated with aircraft noise.

Volpe staff members continue to perform a significant role in the essential task of developing international standards. In support of the International Organization of Standardization, Mr. Michael Sheehan of the Operator Performance and Safety Analysis Division serves as the reporter for the working group that addresses standards for transportation and emergency services. He is also part of the working group that addresses the need for international standards for Intelligent Transportation Systems in transit vehicles.

The research of Ms. Anya Carroll of the High Speed Ground Transportation Division on highway grade crossing now has an international focus. Her work demonstrates that discussions with our international colleagues provide new ways to approach our own transportation and safety problems. Ms. Carroll recently moderated a panel on pedestrian and cyclist safety at the Sixth International Symposium on Railroad-Highway Grade Crossing Research. The panel discussed how some of the innovative safety features that are incorporated in highway grade crossings in Australia and New Zealand might apply in the United States.

We are all proud of the work of Mr. Ross Gill of the Advanced Vehicle Technologies Division in the Former Soviet Union. Since 1993, Mr. Gill has been working with the Department of Defense's Defense Threat Reduction Agency as part of a team that is helping the Former Soviet Union to disable their nuclear weapons of mass destruction in accordance with the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. Mr. Gill was able to use his extensive experience with railroads in this country to provide guidance on implementing transportation protocols for this work. Now that the missiles are actually being moved and dismantled, Mr. Gill continues to provide technical support for the railroad track and railway missile transport cars.

In addition to our country specific work on the international front, we are also involved in international efforts to address such problems as global warming. Mr. Kevin Green of the Transportation Strategic Planning and Analysis Office plays an important role in supporting DOT's Center for Climate Change and Environmental Forecasting, which works to develop solutions for managing greenhouse gas emissions and the effects of climate changes on transportation systems. Mr. Green was part of a team that has provided technical support to the government of Argentina in voluntarily setting targets for greenhouse gas emissions. He has also represented DOT at international workshops and negotiating sessions under the United Nations' framework of the Convention on Climate Change.

Each of these efforts represents the Volpe Center's growth and demonstrates a climate of collaboration in the transportation field. The Center has the flexibility to adapt itself to working on the international front, both collegially and contractually. We see these trends growing and welcome the opportunity to serve and be a part of a wider world.

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