Published & Presented

• Precrash Scenario Typology. Dr.WassimNajmof the Advanced Safety Technology Division presented "Precrash Scenario Typology" at an annual research and developmentmeeting held by Honda and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) inWashington, D.C., September 6, 2006. Dr. Najm's presentation described a novel precrash scenario typology to identify intervention opportunities for advanced vehicle technologies to prevent crashes and to estimate their potential safety benefits. Precrash scenarios refer to vehiclemovements and critical events that occur immediately prior to a collision. The purpose of establishing this precrash scenario typology is to have a common foundation that NHTSA and the automakers can use to prioritize the crash areas that need to be addressed and to project societal benefits fromcrash prevention.
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  CONGESTION PRICING. Facing rising levels of congestion on U.S. roads, transportation economists are giving serious consideration to road pricing schemes. (iStockphoto.com)

  Reverse Manufacturing. Dr. Seamus McGovern of the Terminal and Surface Systems Division presented the paper "Computational Complexity of a Reverse Manufacturing Line" at the Sixth International Conference on Environmentally Conscious Manufacturing in Boston, Massachusetts, as part of the International Society for Optical Engineering's (SPIE) OpticsEast 2006 Technical Event, October 1-4, 2006. The paper was coauthored by Dr. Surendra M. Gupta of Northeastern University and is published in Proceedings of the 2006 SPIE International Conference on Environmentally Conscious Manufacturing VI, Boston, Massachusetts, October 1-4, CD-ROM, 2006. (Paper No. 6385-01)
• Volpe Center staff presented papers at the 13th World Congress and Exhibition on Intelligent Transport Systems and Services held in London, England, October 8-12, 2006. The papers are listed below:
  • "A Driver Acceptance Framework for the Roadway Departure Crash Warning System" by Dr. David Yang of Noblis Systems and Dr. Bruce Wilson and Dr. Mary Stearns of the Human Factors Division.
  • "Safety Assessment of a Rear-End Crash Avoidance System" by Dr. Wassim Najm of the Advanced Safety Technology Division.
• Congestion Pricing. Dr. Don H. Pickrell of the Economic and Industry Analysis Division presented "Congestion Pricing: Background and Basics" at the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission, Washington, D.C., October 18, 2006. http://www.surfacecommission. gov/ Don%20Pickrell%20on%20pricing_1.ppt
• Final Report on Rail Safety Gage-Widening Measurements. For the Federal Railroad Administration, Dr. Theodore Sussmann of the Structures and Dynamics Division and Mr. Narayana Sundaram of State University of New York produced a final report, Development of Gage Widening Projection Parameter for the Deployable Gage Restraint Measurement System. October 2006 (DOT/FRA/ORD-06/13) http://www.fra.dot.gov/downloads/Research/ord0613.pdf
• Volpe Center provides academic and research support for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Next Generation Air Transportation System (NGATS) projects. The primary goal of the NASA Airspace effort is to develop integrated solutions for a safe, efficient, and high-capacity airspace system. The Center has recently published several reports in support of this effort:
  • Review of Human-Automation Interaction Failures and Lessons Learned, Dr. Thomas B. Sheridan and Dr. Eric Nadler of the Human Factors Division. October 2006 (DOT-VNTSC-NASA-06-01) http://www.volpe.dot.gov/hf/docs/ha-failures-sheridan.doc
  • Report on a Workshop on Human-Automation Interaction in NGATS, Dr. Thomas B. Sheridan and Dr. Eric Nadler of the Human Factors Division and Dr. Kevin Corker of San Jose State University. October 2006 (DOT-VNTSC-NASA-06-02) http://www.volpe.dot.gov/hf/docs/workshop-hai-sheridan.doc
  • A Note on the Possibility of Instability in NGATS Upstream Flow Control to Airports, Dr. Thomas B. Sheridan of the Human Factors Division. October 2006 (DOT-VNTSC-NASA-06-03) http://www.volpe.dot.gov/hf/docs/upstream_flow_control-sheridan.doc
  • Strategy for Optimum Acquisition of Information (Technical Note), Dr. Thomas B. Sheridan of the Human Factors Division. October 2006 (DOT-VNTSC-NASA-06-04) http://www.volpe.dot.gov/hf/docs/optimum_acquisition-sheridan.doc
  • Final Report and Recommendations for Research on Human-Automation Interaction in the Next Generation Air Transportation System, Dr. Thomas B. Sheridan and Dr. Eric Nadler of the Human Factors Division and Dr. Kevin Corker of San Jose State University. November 2006 (DOT-VNTSC-NASA-06-05) http://www.volpe.dot.gov/hf/docs/hai-final-sheridan-1204.doc
• Logistics Expertise. The Volpe Center's logistics expertise goes beyond national boundaries. The Center is now assisting the United Kingdom'sMinistry of Defence in becoming more flexible in its air logistics capacity and thus more effective in the demanding expeditionary war environment of the 21st century. Mr. Jack Krumm of the Integrated Transportation Business Enterprise Division was the project manager and technical leader for a study that resulted in process re-engineering recommendations regarding future Royal Air Force (RAF) air logistics capability. These recommendations were included in the Strategic Movements Review report and were recently accepted by the RAF Deputy Chief of Staff, who ordered their implementation. Their implementation will result in a cost-effective consolidation of U.K. Strategic Airlift, from approximately 24 disparate bases to a centralized operation at Brize-Norton RAF Base. The RAF sponsor described the Center's report and recommendations as groundbreaking and said that they could become a template for other elements of the RAF facing similar challenges.
• Aviation Safety Oversight Decisions. Mr. Larry Berk of the Safety Information Systems Division presented the paper "Aviation Safety Oversight Aided by Decision Analysis" at the Annual Conference of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, November 5-8, 2006. Coauthored by Dr. James Hallock of the Safety Information Systems Division, Mr. Berk's presentation described the Volpe Center's research on introducing techniques to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Flight Standards Service for constructing and revising surveillance plans.
• 2006 ASME/International Mechanics Engineering Congress and Exposition. Volpe Center staff presented papers at the 2006 American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition in Chicago, Illinois, November 6-8, 2006. The papers are listed below; some listings include web links. More information can be obtained from individual authors.
  • "Residual Stresses in Passenger Car Wheels," Mr. Jeffrey Gordon and Dr. Benjamin Perlman of the Structures and Dynamics Division and Dr. Shuangqin Liu of Tufts University. IMECE2006-14526. http://www.volpe.dot.gov/sdd/docs/integrity/imece2006-14526.pdf
  • "Dynamic Simulation of Train Derailments," Dr. David Jeong and Dr. Benjamin Perlman of the Structures and Dynamics Division and Mr. Chris Paetsch of Tufts University. IMECE2006-14607. http://www.simspe.com/tankcars/IMECE2006-14607.pdf
  • "Engineering Analyses for Railroad Tank Car Head Puncture Resistance," Dr. David Jeong, Dr. Benjamin Perlman, and Ms. Yim Tang of the Structures and Dynamics Division, and Ms. Hailing Yu of CASE, LLC (a Volpe Center on-site contractor). IMECE2006-13212. http://www.volpe.dot.gov/library/published/asmc-imece2006-13212-v2.pdf
  • "Passenger Equipment Suspension Performance," Mr. Brian Marquis of the Structures and Dynamics Division. IMECE2006-16396. http://www.volpe.dot.gov/library/pp06.html
  • "Crush Analyses of Multi-Level Equipment," Mr. Eloy Martinez of the Federal Railroad Administration, Mr. John Zolock of the U.S. Department of Transportation, and Mr. David Tyrell of the Structures and Dynamics Division. IMECE2006-13214. http://www.volpe.dot.gov/sdd/docs/2006/rail_cw_2006_06.pdf
  • "A Collision Dynamics Model of a Multi-Level Train," Ms. Michelle Priante, Dr. Benjamin Perlman, and Mr. David Tyrell of the Structures and Dynamics Division. IMECE2006-13537. http://www.volpe.dot.gov/sdd/docs/2006/rail_cw_2006_05.pdf
  • "Train-to-Train Impact Test of Crash-Energy Management Passenger Rail Equipment: Occupant Experiments," Ms. Kristine Severson and Mr. Daniel Parent of the Structures and Dynamics Division. IMECE2006-14420. http://www.volpe.dot.gov/sdd/docs/2006/rail_cw_2006_08.pdf
  • "A Train-to-Train Impact Test of Crash Energy Management Passenger Rail Equipment: Structural Results," Mr. Eloy Martinez of the Federal Railroad Administration and Mr. David Tyrell, Ms. Karina Jacobsen, and Dr. Benjamin Perlman of the Structures and Dynamics Division. IMECE2006-13597. http://www.volpe.dot.gov/sdd/docs/2006/rail_cw_2006_07.pdf
  • "Development of a Standard for New Passenger Car Wheel Designs," Mr. Brandon Talamini, Mr. Jeffrey Gordon, and Dr. Benjamin Perlman of the Structures and Dynamics Division. IMECE2006-14735. http://www.volpe.dot.gov/sdd/docs/integrity/imece2006-14375.pdf
• Drug and Alcohol Testing. Mr. Michael Redington and Ms. Eve Rutyna of the Rail and Transit Systems Division and Mr. Nathan Grace and Ms. Felicity Shanahan of CASE, LLC (a Volpe Center on-site contractor) coauthored "Drug and Alcohol Testing Results 2004 Annual Report," the 10th annual report on the results of the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA's) Drug and Alcohol Testing Program. The report, published in November 2006, summarized the reporting requirements for calendar year 2004, the requirements of the overall drug and alcohol testing program, the results from the data reported for 2004, and the random drug and alcohol violation rates for 1995 through 2004.
  http://transit-safety.volpe.dot.gov/Publications/order/singledoc.asp?docid=520