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Volpe Center Highlights - November/December 1999

Director's Notes

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

Innovation will be essential for meeting the Nation's transportation goals in the 21st century.

To help sustain a climate for innovation, the Volpe Center held a conference for Secretary Rodney R. Slater June 24 and 25 on the Spirit of Innovation in Transportation. This conference brought together nearly 400 leaders from the transportation and technology communities to initiate an innovation strategy that moves technology forward from ideas to implementation.

Throughout the Spirit of Innovation conference, participants emphasized three factors that are vital for our future success. First and foremost, America needs an educated and motivated transportation workforce. Next, we need to renew our commitment to long-term, enabling research. And, finally, we must continue to pursue collaboration and partnership among all levels of government, industry, labor, and in the education and research communities.

The conference generated a number of "ideas for action" that will serve as a framework for the Department's strategy to sustain a climate for transportation innovation in the next century. These ideas are summarized in the conference proceedings, Ideas for Action, now available on the Center's Web site. In particular, the Department will expand its leadership role in fostering an innovation environment through the following actions:

First, the Department will promote technology diffusion and the development of an educated workforce by encouraging the Department's field offices and University Transportation Centers to bring together transportation users and technology developers to support lifelong learning in transportation organizations.

Next, DOT will increase efforts to steer and guide long-term research in government, industry, and academia by directing researchers' attention to the Nation's transportation needs and challenges.

The Department will speed the absorption of information technology in transportation by working across the government and with industry to provide a necessary framework of communication standards, data definitions, and frequency allocation.

Finally, DOT will continue to foster innovation in the transportation community by leading a series of sessions at the 79th Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board. On January 10, the Department will lead a special two-part session, facilitated by Secretary Slater and the modal administrators, on "Innovations for Transportation Excellence in the 21st Century." In addition, the Volpe Center is assisting in planning and organizing four sessions as a follow-up to topics covered at the Spirit of Innovation conference:

• Nanotechnology: The session entitled "Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) Applications in Transportation," will focus on how MEMS and nanotechnologies will facilitate one another.

• Cybertechnology: "Transportation Implications of Next-Generation Cybertechnology" will describe how the capabilities of information and communication technologies are likely to evolve over the next decade.

• Education/Workforce: "Innovative Tools for Identifying and Delivering Training," will showcase various new training technologies, including Web-based distance learning and advanced simulation techniques.

• Vehicles and Fuels: Among the issues discussed at the session on "21st Century Policies to Foster Innovation in Vehicles, Fuels, and Systems" will be emissions trading and emissions-reduction credits as methods for reducing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.

These actions are important steps in an ongoing process in the Department-one that will ensure a climate for innovation that accelerates the adoption of new technologies and new ideas in our transportation system.

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