|
|
 |
|
Volpe Center Highlights - Spring 2005
Published and Presented
Director's Notes |
Focus |
Safety |
Mobility |
Global Connectivity
Environmental Stewardship |
Security |
Organizational Excellence
Highlighting Volpe Experts |
Awards |
Published and Presented
Operator Fatigue Management. On October 28, 2004, Dr. Stephen Popkin of the Operator Performance and Safety Analysis Division presented the U.S. DOT Human Factors Coordinating Committee's program on operator fatigue management (OFM) to senior Swedish government officials at the Nobel Forum. The seminar, hosted by the Karolinska Institute, was designed to raise awareness among Swedish transportation officials about the potential dangers of fatigued or drowsy drivers. Approximately 70 government and industry officials attended the seminar, as well as members of the Swedish National Press. The OFM program, co-chaired by Dr. Popkin, began in 2000 to explore alternative, non-prescriptive approaches to the fatigue management of transportation personnel, reducing reliance on regulation as the primary strategy. The long-term goal of this effort is to improve safety and reduce worker fatigue by changing human behavior, corporate and government practice, and cultural norms.
Transportation Research, Development, and Technology (RD&T). Ms. Annalynn Lacombe of the Economic and Industry Analysis Division led the Volpe Center team that prepared the U.S. Department of Transportation's Research, Development, and Technology Plan, 6th Edition, FY 2005, published in October 2004. The RD&T Plan establishes priorities for the Department's RD&T activities and links them to specific objectives and outcomes. It presents DOT's RD&T planning process, identifies the RD&T programs necessary to achieve Departmental objectives, and discusses DOT's overall strategy in carrying out the needed RD&T activities. The RD&T Plan directly supports the Department's five-year Strategic Plan, serving as the implementation document for that plan's RD&T elements. As such, the RD&T Plan provides a key resource for the Department's budget and program development process and helps to avoid program duplication. The RD&T Plan is available at http://www.volpe.dot.gov/infosrc/strtplns/index.html. Transrapid Maglev Technology. At the 18th International Conference on Maglev Systems and Linear Drives, Shanghai, China, October 25-28, 2004, Volpe staff presented research papers on the Transrapid maglev technology developed in Germany and under active consideration for deployment in the United States. These studies, performed in support of the FRA's Maglev Deployment Program, provided comparative economic, public safety, and environmental information for a demonstration maglev transportation service in the United States.
"TR08 Maglev Electromagnetic Fields (EMF) and Radiation (EMR): Characteristics and Safety Standards." Dr. Aviva Brecher of the Office of Environmental Preservation. "Comparison of Maglev Projects Planned for U.S. and Germany Using Transrapid Technology." Dr. Ronald Mauri of the Economic and Industry Analysis Division; Dr. Mark Yachmetz, FRA Associate Administrator for Railroad Development; Dr. Arnold Kupferman, FRA's manager of the Maglev Deployment Program; and Dr. John Harding of the FRA Office of Railroad Development.
Examining the Use of ATIS. Mr. Sean Peirce and Ms. Jane Lappin of the Economic and Industry Analysis Division co-authored "Connecting in Seattle," published in Transportation Management + Engineering (TM+E), October 2004. The article discusses a Volpe Center examination of the factors that affect the decisions to consult advanced traveler information systems (ATIS) and to use that information. Findings were drawn from an analysis of Puget Sound Transportation Panel survey data collected during 2002 and 2003. The research was funded by the U.S. DOT's ITS Joint Program Office. Royal Institute of Navigation. Dr. James Carroll of the Surveillance and Assessment Division presented "Performance Analysis of an Integrated GPS and Enhanced LORAN System," at NAV04: Location and Timing Applications, Royal Institute of Navigation Annual Navigation Conference and Exhibition, held in London, United Kingdom, November 9-11, 2004. Human Factors in Aeronautics. Dr. Divya Chandra of the Operator Performance and Safety Analysis Division presented "Designing and Testing a Tool for Evaluating Electronic Flight Bags" at the International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction in Aeronautics, held in Toulouse, France, September 29-October 1, 2004. The paper was written by Dr. Chandra, Dr. Michelle Yeh of the Operator Performance and Safety Analysis Division, and Dr. Vic Riley, a Volpe Center contractor. IEEE Digital Avionics System Conference. Several papers by Volpe staff members were presented at the 23rd Digital Avionics System Conference, held in Salt Lake City, Utah, October 24-28, 2004.
"Alternative Surveillance Technology for the Gulf of Mexico," Digital Avionics Systems Conference, 2004, DASC 04, Vol. 1. Mr. Anastasios Daskalakis and Mr. Patrick Martone of the Surveillance and Assessment Division. "Deicing Decision Support Tool," Digital Avionics Systems Conference, 2004, DASC 04, Vol. 1. Dr. Jonathan Lee, Ms. Suzanne Chen, and Mr. Anastasios Daskalakis of the Surveillance and Assessment Division.
Lessons Learned from Unplanned Events. Mr. Allan DeBlasio of the Planning and Policy Analysis Division presented "The Effects of Unplanned Events on Transportation System Management and Operations: Applying Lessons Learned to Planned Special Events" at the National Conference on Managing Travel for Planned Special Events, held in New Orleans, Louisiana, December 1-3, 2004. Mr. DeBlasio also led a Volpe team that wrote "Learning from the 2003 Blackout," published in Public Roads, September/October 2004, http://www.tfhrc.gov/ pubrds/04sep/04.htm. Breath Alcohol Testing Devices. Mr. Edward Conde of the Environmental Measurement and Modeling Division presented "NHTSA Evaluation of Breath Test Equipment" at the Blood and Breath Alcohol Test Program Management and Administration Symposium, held in Bloomington, Indiana, October 17-19, 2004.
Analysis of Occupant Protection Measurements. Part of the Volpe Center's ongoing passenger rail equipment safety research for FRA includes full-scale impact tests of rail cars to measure occupant response during collision. Anthropomorphic test devices (ATDs) are instrumented with accelerometers and load cells to measure the injury risk to occupants. |
International Mechanical Engineering Congress. Several papers by Volpe staff members were presented at the 2004 American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Research and Development RD&D Expo, held in Anaheim, California, November 15-19, 2004.
"Neutron Residual Stress Measurements on Rail Sections for Different Production Conditions," IMECE2004-61754. Dr. Vladimir Luzin, Dr. Thomas Gnupel-Herold, and Dr. Henry J. Prask of the NIST Center for Neutron Research and Mr. Jeffrey Gordon of the Structures and Dynamics Division. "Impact Tests of Crash-Energy Management Passenger Rail Cars: Analysis and Structural Measurements," IMECE2004-61252. Ms. Karina Jacobsen, Mr. David Tyrell, and Dr. Benjamin Perlman, all of the Structures and Dynamics Division. "Development of Crash Energy Management Design for Existing Passenger Rail Vehicles," IMECE2004-61601. Mr. Eloy Martinez, Mr. David Tyrell, and Dr. Benjamin Perlman, all of the Structures and Dynamics Division. "Two Car Impact Test of Crash-Energy Management Passenger Rail Cars: Analysis of Occupant Protection Measurements," IMECE2004-61249. Ms. Kristine Severson, Mr. Daniel Parent, and Mr. David Tyrell, all of the Structures and Dynamics Division. "Finite Element Estimation of the Residual Stresses in Roller Straightened Rail," IMECE2004-61850. Mr. Brandon Talamini, Mr. Jeffrey Gordon, and Dr. Benjamin Perlman, all of the Structures and Dynamics Division.
Wake Vortex Research. Dr. James Hallock, Chief of the Aviation Safety Division, Dr. Frank Wang of the Surveillance and Assessment Division, and Mr. George C. Green of the Federal Aviation Administration wrote "Wake Vortex Measurements to Support Safety Assessment of the Simultaneous Offset Instrument Approach Procedure at San Francisco International Airport," presented at the 2nd WakeNet2-Europe Workshop on Capacity Gains as Function of Weather and Weather Prediction Capabilities, held in Langen, Germany, November 27-December 1, 2004. Human Factors and Runway Safety. Dr. Daniel Hannon of the Operator Performance and Safety Analysis Division presented "Using Simulators in the Training of Ground Vehicle Operators" at the 20th Annual Great Lakes Region Airports Conference, held in Chicago, Illinois, November 18, 2004. Disassembly Line Balancing. Mr. Seamus McGovern of the Airport Surface Division co-authored "Combinatorial Optimization Methods for Disassembly Line Balancing," presented at the International Society for Optical Engineers OpticsEast 2004, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, October 25-28, 2004. International Wheelset Congress. Mr. Jeffrey Gordon of the Structures and Dynamics Division presented a paper titled "The Effects of Wear and Service Conditions on Residual Stresses in Commuter Car Wheels" at the 14th International Wheelset Congress, held October 17-21, 2004 in Orlando, Florida. The paper was co-authored with Dr. Benjamin Perlman, also of the Division. Heuristic Programming. Dr. Alan Rao of the Railroad Systems Division presented "Heuristic Techniques Developed for Geospatial Data Fusion" at the Annual Conference of Institute for Operations Research and Management Science (INFORMS), held in Denver, Colorado, October 24-27, 2004. Grade Crossing Research. Ms. Suzanne Sposato presented "Public Education and Enforcement Research Study" at the Sixth Annual Workshop on Highway-Railway Grade Crossing Research, held in Montreal, Canada, November 22-24, 2004. Transportation Security Training. Mr. Robert Hoaglund of the Infrastructure Protection and Operations Division, supported by Mr. Allan DeBlasio of the Planning and Policy Analysis Division, presented "The Effects of Catastrophic Events on the Transportation System" on December 6, 2004 at the Transportation Security Council of the American Society for Industrial Security in Boston, Massachusetts.
For the Record
Corrections: Some names appeared in the Fall 2004 issue of Highlights with incorrect titles. These names should have appeared as follows: Dr. Jeffrey Bryan, Dr. Arthur Flores, and Dr. Stephen Popkin. We regret the errors.
Return to Top
|
|
