The Journal's lead story spotlights our Center for Navigation's work in support of the Panama Canal Commission. The successful efforts in Panama are a result of a long tradition of engineering excellence that has been required to overcome the multi-faceted navigation challenges presented by the Canal and other major waterways.

Making the story all the more timely is the Center for Navigation's recent effort to support U.S. Agency for International Development's (AID) work in rebuilding Central America's transportation infrastructure damaged by Hurricanes Georges and Mitch. U.S. Secretary of Transportation Rodney Slater has announced that the Department, through the Volpe Center, will provide a GPS-based harbor navigation and guidance system to assist our Central American neighbors. J. Brian Atwood, AID Administrator, referred to the Volpe Center's proposal to replace the damaged buoys and lights with a state-of-the-art GPS-based, 24-hour, all-weather system as "the kind of innovative thinking we are encouragingwe want to put in place systems that are better than what existed before the hurricanes in order to promote sustainable economic and social development."

Other topics featured in this issue include Information Security, Crash Avoidance, and Global Warming.

The article on information security characterizes the problem of cyber-terrorism, outlines the Federal government's response to several security-related concerns, and describes the Volpe Center's critical support to this response. The possibility of catastrophic terrorist activities has focused attention on the vulnerabilities of both domestic and foreign transportation facilities.

The global warming article reviews the status of climate change policy and potential implications for transportation. The Volpe Center is key to the U.S. Department of Transportation's efforts to position itself to respond to the priority being placed on the mitigation of global climate change by the President and the Vice President.

Volpe Center work in support of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is highlighted in the article on crash avoidance. The article describes how new automobile safety systems will help prevent crashes by warning drivers of unsafe conditions.

Other Journal features include a portrait of one of our national experts, news from our Technical Reference Center and a story about one of our latest volunteer endeavors.

Dr. Richard R. John
Director, Volpe National Transportation Systems Center