Robert Johns Named as Volpe Center Director
Robert C. Johns has been named as the new director of the Volpe Center. Mr. Johns has been director of the Center for Transportation Studies (CTS) at the University of Minnesota since 2001.
"Bob Johns stood out as a leader who brings a strong combination of deep transportation knowledge, research experience, management skills, and extensive ties within the national and global transportation communities. He brings entrepreneurial leadership in building multimodal and inter-disciplinary research programs along with his strong management and organizational development expertise," said Peter H. Appel, Administrator of the U.S. DOT's Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA).
As the director of the CTS, Mr. Johns more than doubled the revenue attracted to the University for transportation research, education, and outreach, leading CTS to the top echelon of university transportation centers in the U.S.
Prior to joining the University in 1988, he held research and management positions with the Santa Fe Railway, the Minnesota DOT, and the Metropolitan Council of the Twin Cities. Mr. Johns also has over 20 years of experience in leading Transportation Research Board (TRB) committees and currently is chair of the Technical Activities Council, which oversees TRB's 200 technical committees. He received a B.S. in Engineering Operations from Iowa State University and an M.B.A. and M.A. from the University of Iowa. Dr. Richard R. John, Director Emeritus at the Volpe Center, served as Acting Director of the Center since November 2008.
