New and Noteworthy
Transportation Trajectories with Mike Dinning
About Transportation Trajectories
Featuring Volpe Center experts, Transportation Trajectories is a new dialogue on advancing transportation innovation for the public good.
You are cordially invited to Join us in person or via webinar for our next Transportation Trajectories conversation. Join us as Volpe Center staff describe their work, share their knowledge of the transportation enterprise and respond to questions from participants.
About the Event
Cyber Security in Transportation: Hype or Armageddon?
with Michael Dinning
Director of the Center for Transportation Logistics and Security
at the Volpe Center
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
12:00 noon-12:30 p.m.
Management Information Center 1
Volpe Center
55 Broadway, Kendall Square
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Meet Michael Dinning
Michael Dinning is Director of the Center for Transportation Logistics and Security Technical Center at the Volpe Center. The Center is the national research center of the U.S. Department of Transportation, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Mr. Dinning has extensive experience managing programs to evaluate, demonstrate, and deploy innovations in transportation, security, and logistics management systems.
Mr. Dinning has worked at the Volpe Center for over 32 years, including three years as an in-house consultant. Recently, he served as Executive Director of Business Development and facilitated new business development across the organization. Mr. Dinning has held several other positions at the Volpe Center, including: Acting Deputy Director, Office of Logistics and Information Management; Acting Deputy Director, Office of Environmental Preservations and Systems Modernization; Chief, Infrastructure Protection and Operation Division; and Chief, Systems Planning and Integration Division.
He directs a wide variety of programs involving transportation and logistics planning, process improvements, and technology evaluations, as well as programs to demonstrate and deploy innovative technologies and systems. His organization's work includes assessing the operational performance of transportation and logistics technologies, evaluating the resilience and security of transportation and logistics infrastructure elements and systems, and integrating global maritime and logistics information to improve operations, safety, and security.
Mr. Dinning represents the Volpe Center before a wide variety of transportation and technology industry organizations involved in innovations in transportation and logistics. He is a frequent speaker to industry, academia, and government agencies on intelligent transportation system and security technologies. Mr. Dinning is a recognized expert in applications of smart card technology to transportation, and is coauthor of the book, Smart Cards: Seizing Strategic Business Opportunities. He has been recognized by the Department of Transportation for his work in deploying advanced technology for public transit systems, and developing information technology for logistics management systems.
Mr. Dinning received his bachelors and masters degrees from Northwestern University.
For further information on Transportation Trajectories, please contact Ellen Bell, Director of Strategic Initiatives for Research and Innovation, 617.494.2491 ellen.bell@dot.gov; 617.494.2491
(Added 02/07/2012)
Straight from the Source with Jose A. Gomez-Ibanez
Straight from the Source
an innovation information exchange for the transportation community
Congestion in Rapidly Growing Cities: Lessons Learned from Jakarta, Ho Chi Minh City and Mumbai
Jose A. Gomez-Ibanez
Derek C. Bok Professor of Urban Planning and Public Policy
Harvard University
Thursday, February 9, 2012
12 noon
Where:
Management Information Center 1, Building 1, 12th floor
Volpe Center
55 Broadway
Kendall Square
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Join us in person or via webinar
About the Source
Jose A. Gomez-Ibanez is the Derek C. Bok Professor of Urban Planning and Public Policy at Harvard University, where he holds a joint appointment at the Graduate School of Design and the John F. Kennedy School of Government. He teaches courses in economics, infrastructure, and transportation policy in both schools. His research interests are in transportation, infrastructure, and economic development, and he has authored or edited a half dozen books including: Regulating Infrastructure: Monopoly, Contracts and Discretion; Essays in Transportation Economics and Policy: A Handbook in Honor of John R. Meyer (with William Tye and Clifford Winston); Going Private: The International Experience with Transport Privatization (with John R. Meyer); Regulation for Revenue: The Political Economy of Land Use Exactions (with Alan Altshuler); Autos, Transit and Cities (with John R. Meyer); and Cases in Microeconomics (with Joseph Kalt).
At Harvard, Professor Gomez-Ibanez currently serves as the faculty co-chair (with Henry Lee) of the Infrastructure in a Market Economy executive program at the Kennedy School. Since 2007, he has been Chair of the Social and Urban Policy Area at the Kennedy School. In the past he has been the faculty chair of the Masters in Urban Planning Program at the Design School, of the Masters in Public Policy Program at the Kennedy School, of doctoral programs at the Design School, and of the Department of Urban Planning and Design at the Design School.
Professor Gomez-Ibanez received his A.B. in government from Harvard College and his M.P.P. and Ph.D. in Public Policy from Harvard.
* The views of this presenter do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Department of Transportation.
(Added 01/31/2012)
Public Launch Slated for New Aviation Environmental Tool
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Volpe are poised to launch a new environmental analysis tool that will offer a robust, integrated way to quantify the environmental impact of aviation—from a single flight up to full-scale global impacts.
The FAA's Office of Environment and Energy will begin in early 2012 its phased public rollout of the Aviation Environmental Design Tool (AEDT), a software system that dynamically models flight, taking into account the aircraft weight, performance characteristics, and weather conditions, and calculates the resulting noise, air quality, greenhouse gas emissions, and fuel burn. This capability will allow users to analyze the trade-offs between noise, fuel burn, and emissions, and quantify the environmental impact of changes in a flight's trajectory or an engine's design.
"The reality is, there are environmental tradeoffs in aviation, and AEDT will, for the first time, provide the analyst with a means of understanding these tradeoffs in a robust, meaningful way," said Gregg Fleming, director of Volpe's Center for Environmental and Energy Systems. Volpe is the lead AEDT developer, functioning as the system architect and integrator of all modules and related databases. "As the FAA moves towards NextGen, it is critical to be able to accurately quantify fuel burn changes associated with various NextGen initiatives, and AEDT provides that capability," Fleming said.
Part of a broader suite of FAA analysis tools, AEDT is used by the U.S. Government and supports domestic decisions related to NextGen, as well as international policymaking within the International Civil Aviation Organization.
In its ability to capture the gate-to-gate, integrated environmental impacts of flight, AEDT offers substantial enhancements over existing air quality and noise analysis tools, which model only individual environmental consequences (like noise or emissions) for a single airport or region. As another major advancement over legacy systems, AEDT incorporates geographic information systems, which provide the environmental analysis with a data-driven visual representation of aviation operations in concert with noise, air quality, greenhouse gas emissions, and fuel burn.
In the development of this multi-year, multi-million-dollar project, Volpe's software architects, aviation engineers and specialists, acousticians, and emissions and dispersion modeling experts have worked collaboratively with a team of over 70 people that includes the FAA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), MIT, Georgia Tech, ATAC Corp., CSSI Inc., Metron Aviation, and Wyle Laboratories.
The first public version of AEDT that is slated for release in early 2012 will provide regional noise modeling capabilities. Once the full public software version is rolled out, AEDT will be used by government, industry, and academia—both nationally and internationally—with an estimated user base of 3,000-plus.
(Added 01/19/2012)
Transportation Trajectories with Gregg Fleming
About Transportation Trajectories
Featuring Volpe Center experts, Transportation Trajectories is a new dialogue on advancing transportation innovation for the public good.
You are cordially invited to Join us in person or via webinar for our next Transportation Trajectories conversation. Join us as Volpe Center staff describe their work, share their knowledge of the transportation enterprise and respond to questions from participants.
About the Event
Global Initiatives for Green Aviation
with Gregg Fleming
Director of the Environmental and Energy Systems
Technical Center at the Volpe Center
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
12:00 noon-12:30 p.m.
Management Information Center 1
Volpe Center
55 Broadway, Kendall Square
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Meet Gregg Fleming
As Director of the Environmental and Energy Systems Technical Center at the Volpe Center, Gregg Fleming has over 20 years of experience in all aspects of transportation-related acoustics, air quality, and climate issues. He has guided the technical work of numerous, multi-faceted teams on projects supporting all levels of Government, Industry, and Academia, including the International Civil Aviation Organization, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Federal Highway Administration, the National Park Service, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Academy of Sciences.
Mr. Fleming is responsible for the design, development, and deployment of internationally recognized environmental analysis tools, including the FAA's Aviation Environmental Design Tool (AEDT), the FAA's Integrated Noise Model (INM), FAA's System for assessing Aviation's Global Emissions (SAGE), and FHWA's Traffic Noise Model (TNM). The FAA tools are used for establishing national and international policies pertaining to aviation and the environment, including noise and environmental stringencies and domestic analyses in support of the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen). FHWA's TNM is used for designing highway noise barriers and informing the federal distribution of noise mitigation funds related to highway noise barrier construction. He is also responsible for evaluating, establishing, and maintaining standardized procedures for national and international aircraft noise certification. Most recently, he has been working with industry and academia on projects related to alternative fuels, with particular focus on approaches to achieving carbon-neutral growth.
Under Mr. Fleming's direction, the Environmental and Energy Systems Center of Innovation maintains an extensive laboratory of environmental measurement and monitoring instrumentation, including a quick-response capability to support all aspects of transportation-related environmental measurements.
Mr. Fleming currently co-chairs the International Civil Aviation Organization's (ICAO) Modeling and Databases Task Force and represents the Federal Aviation Administration at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. He is Chairman Emeritus of the Transportation Research Board's Committee for Transportation Related Noise and Vibration and is active in the Society of Automotive Engineers, as well as numerous other technical organizations.
Mr. Fleming holds a B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Lowell. He has co-authored numerous peer-reviewed journal articles and has participated substantially in the development of national and international standards on technical issues pertaining to acoustics, air quality, and climate change.
For further information contact: Ellen Bell, Director of Strategic Initiatives for Research and Innovation: ellen.bell@dot.gov; 617.494.2491
(Added 12/14/2011)
Library Spotlight
The following articles can be found in the Volpe Center Technical Library and Information Center's Library Spotlight.
New Report: White Mountain National Forest Alternative Transportation Study
New Report: Shenandoah National Park Traveler Information Coordination Study
Three Reports Evaluating the Cooperative Intersection Collision Avoidance System for Violations (CICAS-V) Initiative Published
(Added 12/08/2011)
Small Jammers Present Big Problems for GPS
This is a key year for Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS): satellites are being launched in Europe with the Galileo system, in Russia with the Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS), and in China with the Compass/Beidou system, reported Karen Van Dyke, Principle Technical Advisor for Global Positioning Systems (GPS) at the Volpe Center and Director of the Office of Positioning, Navigation, and Timing at the U.S. DOT's Research and Innovative Technology Administration. Some estimates venture that there are more than one billion users of GPS worldwide, Van Dyke said.
However, an item that sells for as little as $30 has already caused big problems for this rapidly growing technology and highlights the vulnerability of GPS. Sold as "privacy detectors," GPS jammers block GPS civil frequencies and are often used by drivers of company or fleet vehicles to prevent tracking, said Van Dyke, who spoke at the Volpe Center on September 27 during Transportation Trajectories, a new dialogue on advancing transportation innovation for the public good. Although GPS jammers are illegal to use in the United States, these low-powered, readily available devices are finding a growing market here and recently caused a stir at New Jersey's Newark Liberty International Airport.
A little over a year ago, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was testing and evaluating a new GPS-based landing system at Newark Airport and discovered disruptions at the reference receivers. It took the FAA and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) months to discover the source of the interference: a driver on the nearby New Jersey Turnpike was passing by daily with an inexpensive GPS jammer in his truck, said Van Dyke.
"They're prevalent and it's a very difficult problem," said Van Dyke, noting that the GPS-based landing system at Newark still has not gone operational.
These GPS jammers are just one of a number of types of intentional and unintentional interferences that challenge existing and emerging satellite navigation systems. "As we move to more dependence on GPS and GNSS, we do need to be careful to not become too over-reliant on the technology," Van Dyke cautioned. "If we're going to integrate use of them into safety-of-life systems, we need to make sure that they have accuracy, availability, [and] integrity."
(Added 10/31/2011)
Volpe Welcomes French Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Delegation
Last week Volpe Center Associate Administrator and Director Robert Johns welcomed a French delegation which specializes in Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) relating to vehicles, onboard electronic systems, safety, radio-frequency identification, and transportation mapping. Their mission was sponsored by one of the four major automotive clusters in France, as well as the French Ministry which supports collaborative research and partnership. The delegation—over 20 in number—included a consortium of sixteen top French ITS companies, automotive clusters and research laboratories. Molly A. Swart, Senior Trade Advisor— Automotive, French Embassy Trade Office—Ubifrance—served as delegation liaison. Ubifrance is the French agency for international business development and comes under the aegis of France's Ministry for the Economy, Industry and Employment. Timothy Klein, Senior Policy Advisor for the U.S. Department of Transportation's Research and Innovative Technology Administration in Washington, D.C., also participated in the meeting.
Wassim Najm, PhD., Chief of the Volpe Center's Advanced Vehicle Technology Division, presented on the Volpe Center's motor vehicle safety research with a focus on crash avoidance, pre-crash sensing applications, crashworthiness, and the safety/reliability of automotive electronic controls. During his presentation, Dr. Najm highlighted the Volpe Center's support to the ITS Joint Program Office on the Safety Pilot Program—a field test and evaluation to assess the capabilities of current vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure technologies through the deployment of these technologies in a large scale field test. Dr. Najm also discussed the Volpe Center's work with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and U.S.-based automakers to evaluate the potential of emerging pedestrian crash avoidance mitigation (PCAM) systems. PCAM systems include forward-facing radar designed to sense pedestrians in both low-speed and high-speed incursions. The exchange provided an excellent opportunity for Volpe Center experts and delegation participants to share information on advancements in ITS research.
(Added 10/27/2011)
Straight from the Source with Max Donath, PhD
Straight from the Source
an innovation information exchange for the transportation community
Reducing road fatalities by focusing on human centered systems: Augmented reality allows us to see and feel the road
Our objective is to increase the driver's situation awareness through the use of improved sensing and human machine interfaces, taking advantage wherever possible of the driver's intuitive response
Max Donath, PhD
Director Intelligent Transportation Systems Institute University of Minnesota
About the Source: Max Donath, PhD
Max Donath is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Director of the Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Institute at the University of Minnesota. The Institute's activities are focused on human-centered systems for enhancing the safety and mobility of road-and transit-based transportation. The ITS Institute, under his direction since 1997, pursues research in the areas of human performance and behavior, driver interfaces, sensors, vehicle and traffic controls, communications, and traffic modeling and simulation—developing new approaches for confronting difficult transportation issues.
Professor Donath's most recent research efforts have been directed toward the application of sensors and control systems to reduce driver error and the resulting road fatalities. The focus of his research can be grouped into four areas: (a) improved georeferenced location sensing ("which lane" and "where in lane" vehicle position), (b) collision avoidance and active safety, (c) novel human interfaces for providing improved situation awareness to the driver and pedestrian, and (d) reducing teen driver fatal crashes.
A driver-assistive system developed by the Intelligent Vehicles Lab at the Institute has been operational in Thompson Pass in Alaska since 2003. The system integrates high-accuracy differential GPS, radar, and a head-up display, providing visual, haptic, and tactile feedback that allows drivers to perform high-priority snow clearance tasks while operating under difficult visibility conditions. A similar technology was deployed in 2010 on ten buses in passenger service as part of a BRT system allowing drivers to bypass congestion by driving along a narrow shoulder with only a decimeter to spare. Dr. Donath also leads a major effort with the support of the USDOT and Mn/DOT to reduce fatalities and crashes at rural unsignalized intersections by using innovative sensing techniques and human interfaces to help drivers (especially older ones) decide when it is NOT safe to enter a high-speed intersection. This new system is presently deployed at four intersections as part of a three-year field operational test.
Dr. Donath has been on the faculty at the University of Minnesota since he received his Ph.D. from MIT in 1978.
When:
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
12 noon to 12:30 p.m.
Where:
Volpe Center
55 Broadway, Cambridge, MA
Management Information Center 1, Building 1, 12th floor
This event is also available via webinar:
When the event begins, to view the slideshow, go to www.webmeeting.att.com and log in with the meeting number and code below.
Meeting number: 8773361839
Code: 2996006
To connect for the audio conference, the information is the same:
Call-in number: 877-336-1839
Code: 2996006
For further information contact: Ellen Bell, Director of Strategic Initiatives for Research and Innovation: ellen.bell@dot.gov; 617.494.2491
The Volpe Center is committed to providing equal access to these sessions for all participants. If you need alternative formats or services, please contact Patricia Gordon, Reasonable Accommodation Coordinator, at Ext. 3938 so that services may be coordinated.
* The views of this presenter do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Department of Transportation.
(Added 10/27/2011)
Transportation Safety Requires Vigilance, an Open Mind
Twenty-six years ago, before becoming a safety inspector for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), David Soucie discovered first-hand the danger in placing monetary priorities above safety.
As maintenance director at the time for a Colorado emergency medical helicopter company, Soucie had been asked by several of his pilots to equip their aircraft with wire strike kits—safety equipment that cuts through wires in the event of a collision with power or telephone lines. However, calculating the cost of the kits against the company's budget, Soucie rejected the purchase. Then on Christmas Eve 1985, company pilot Mike Myers was lifting off in a remote region in Utah after responding to a medical emergency when the wind changed and sent his Bell helicopter adrift into a power line. The wire cut through the chopper's windshield—and into Myers, who died the next day.
"In today's world, we can quantify just about anything we want to quantify," said Soucie, adding that he had looked at the potential return on investment when weighing the safety purchase. "It didn't work because Mike Meyers is dead."
Soucie spoke about the incident during a Sept. 13 "Straight from the Source" presentation at the John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center to highlight what he calls "risk IQ," which relates to how an organization measures its own safety culture. Having worked as an aviation safety inspector and accident investigator, among other roles, for the FAA from 1990 to 2006, Soucie has made it his mission to improve aviation safety—something he writes about in his newly published memoir, Why Planes Crash: An Accident Investigator's Fight for Safe Skies.
During his talk, Soucie challenged listeners to examine their thinking about safety, saying that many organizations fail to even recognize risks or hazards. Organizations can become complacent if they do not recognize changes in their environment, which includes recognizing potential threats as well as opportunities, he said. There is also danger in becoming over reliant on institutionalized behavior and in placing other priorities above safety.
It is important for institutions to repair the way they think about risk by raising their awareness, Soucie said. This involves realizing the way that they think about hazards and recognizing changes in the environment. Organizations should also analyze how they make decisions and consider all alternatives and opportunities where safety is concerned.
Regina Houston, Chief of the Volpe Center's Aviation Safety Management Division, worked with Soucie when he was an aviation inspector for the FAA and thinks that he carries a good message in challenging people to think about safety in a different way. "We at Volpe in transportation have a real opportunity to truly make a difference, and what a shame it would be if we didn't open our minds when thinking about safety," Houston said.
Please visit Straight from the Source for more information about David Soucie and other participants in this speaker series.
(Added 10/25/2011)
Transportation Trajectories with Kevin Gay
Transportation Trajectories with Kevin Gay
Featuring Volpe Center experts, Transportation Trajectories is a new dialogue on advancing transportation innovation for the public good.
You are cordially invited to join us in person or via webinar for our next Transportation Trajectories conversation. Join us as Volpe Center staff describe their work, share their knowledge of the transportation enterprise, and respond to questions from participants.
About the Event
Safety Pilot—The World's Most Extensive Real World Deployment of Connected Vehicle Safety
With Kevin Gay
Senior Operations Research Analyst
And Safety Pilot Program Team Member
Advanced Transportation Technologies Center
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
12:00 noon - 12:30 p.m.
Volpe Center
55 Broadway, Kendall Square
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Background information
The Connected Vehicle Safety Pilot Program is part of a major scientific research program run jointly by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and its research and development partners in private industry. The Connected Vehicle Safety Research Program supports the development of safety applications based on vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communications systems, using dedicated short-range communications (DSRC) technology. The Safety Pilot is designed to determine the effectiveness of these safety applications at reducing crashes and to show how real-world drivers will respond to these safety applications in their vehicles. The test will include many vehicles with vehicle awareness devices, others with integrated safety systems, and others that use aftermarket safety devices to communicate with surrounding vehicles.
The vision of the Safety Pilot is to test connected vehicle safety applications in real-world driving scenarios to determine their effectiveness at reducing crashes and to ensure that the devices are safe and do not unnecessarily distract motorists or cause unintended consequences. The Safety Pilot will evaluate everyday drivers' reactions both in a controlled environment through driver clinics and on actual roadways with other vehicles through the real-world model deployment. In all, approximately 3,000 vehicles will be included in the combined model deployment and driver clinics. Driver reactions will be evaluated as they use the latest wireless vehicle safety applications and receive in-vehicle warning messages if they approach potentially dangerous traffic situations.
Meet Kevin Gay
Kevin W. Gay contributes strategic thinking and technical direction for both quantitative research and information system technology projects. He is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) with over a decade of experience in managing budgets, resources, and schedules in challenging advanced technology projects.
Currently, Mr. Gay is assisting the Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office (ITS JPO) in the technical management of the Safety Pilot Program, a multi-modal year-long field operational test of Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) based crash avoidance systems involving thousands of motor vehicles and corresponding roadside systems. These crash avoidance systems have the potential to impact 81% of all vehicle crashes.
Previously, Kevin served as the project manager for the development of a prototype back office system to facilitate the Wireless Roadside Inspection (WRI) Pilot Test for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). The WRI Program seeks to improve motor carrier safety (reduction in accidents) by increased compliance with regulations through a higher frequency of roadside safety inspections using wireless technologies. Mr. Gay has worked on many FMCSA-sponsored projects since joining Volpe, including the Compliance, Safety, and Accountable (CSA) program, which redesigned FMCSA safety compliance business processes, and the Program Effectiveness Models, which provide analytical estimates of the safety benefits generated from FMCSA safety programs.
Prior to joining the Volpe Center, Mr. Gay worked in private industry, developing advanced transportation planning and execution applications to enhance the capabilities of shippers, third party logistics providers, and transportation providers to buy, sell, manage, and optimize multi-modal transportation services. Mr. Gay received a B.S. in Applied Mathematics from Georgia Institute of Technology.
This event is also available via webinar:
When the event begins, to view the slideshow, go to www.webmeeting.att.com and log in with the meeting number and code below.
Meeting number: 8773361839
Code: 2996006
To connect for the audio conference, the information is the same:
Call-in number: 877-336-1839
Code: 2996006
The Volpe Center is committed to providing equal access to these sessions for all participants. If you need alternative formats or services, please contact Patricia Gordon, Reasonable Accommodation Coordinator, at Ext. 3938 by September 20 so that services may be coordinated.
For further information on Transportation Trajectories, please contact Ellen Bell, Director of Strategic Initiatives for Research and Innovation, 617.494.2491 ellen.bell@dot.gov
(Added 10/19/2011)
U.S. DOT SBIR Program Kicks Off Fiscal Year 2012 Program with Call for Innovative Research Proposals
The U.S. DOT's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program seeks innovative research proposals from small businesses to address specific research challenges facing the modal administrations. The SBIR Program Office at the Volpe Center has posted the first of two SBIR Program solicitations for Fiscal Year 2012, inviting small businesses to submit research proposals that address high priority goals within the U.S. DOT.
The first solicitation of the year has identified nine (9) research topics, including highway, rail, transit, and pipeline topic areas. The FY 12.1 DOT SBIR Program Solicitation opened on October 11, 2011 and closes December 12, 2011. The solicitation is now available online at http://www.volpe.dot.gov/sbir/current.html
(Added 10/13/2011)
Volpe to Deliver SmartPark Truck Parking Presentations at the Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) World Congress
Gary Ritter, Director of the Advanced Transportation Technologies Technical Center at the Volpe Center will deliver two presentations at next week's 18th World Congress on Intelligent Transportation Systems in Orlando, Florida. Mr. Ritter will participate in two sessions that are related to truck parking. In the first, he will present the technical paper, "Smart Park: Truck Parking Field Operation Test Results," co-authored by Alan Chachich and Scott Smith of the Volpe Center's Technology, Innovation and Policy Division. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) asked the Volpe Center to support its SmartPark program by assisting with a field operations test of two technologies, video imaging and magnetometry, to assess their suitability for determining the occupancy of truck parking areas. This paper reports the results of these tests. FMCSA has undertaken the SmartPark initiative to demonstrate whether an ITS technology for providing parking availability information in real-time to truckers on the road will work for diverting trucks from filled to unfilled parking areas. A secondary benefit for drivers is that SmartPark can help them in managing fatigue. Mr. Ritter will also participate in a panel discussion on the efforts to use ITS to support truck parking. Keeping the Economy Moving is the theme of this year's World Congress on ITS.
(Added 10/13/2011)
U.S. DOT Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program Success Stories
Three new DOT SBIR Program success stories have been posted on the U.S. Small Business Administration's (SBA) new website, http://www.sbir.gov/success-stories-by-agency/128
The success stories feature SBIR projects funded by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). Since its inception, the DOT SBIR Program has provided incentive funding to small businesses to translate their innovative ideas into commercial products that address key transportation problems. These innovations are the primary source of new technologies that can provide improve the safety and efficiency of the nation's transportation network. The SBIR Program has helped spawn successful commercial ventures that not only improve the transportation network, but also create jobs, increase productivity and economic growth and enhance our nation's global competitiveness.
The DOT SBIR Program is administered by the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center).
(Added 10/13/2011)
Volpe Scientist Recognized by White House with Early Career Award
The White House recently named Volpe Center employee Dr. Kristin C. Lewis a recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. The award is the highest honor bestowed by the United States government on science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers.
Dr. Lewis distinguished herself by working collaboratively to develop a standard for synthesized hydrocarbon jet fuels which has since received international approval. She is also recognized for her outstanding leadership coordinating the aviation-related fuels research of 200+ organizations from Government, industry and academia.
Dr. Lewis serves as the Head Research and Technical Advisor for the Federal Aviation Administration's Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Research Initiative (CAAFI), a coalition that seeks to enhance energy security and environmental sustainability for aviation through alternative jet fuels. "The aviation community is actively researching sustainable alternative fuel solutions. It's an exciting time to be involved in alternative fuels because momentum is really building" says Lewis.
In addition to her work at CAAFI, Dr. Lewis is an active participant in the rich scientific and academic community in the Boston area, partnering with researchers at MIT's Aeronautics and Astronautics Department. Dr. Lewis also has strong ties with the U.S. Air Force's Research Laboratory (AFRL) in Dayton, OH, where she is considered a recognized leader in the field.
Prior to joining the Volpe Center in 2009, Dr. Lewis worked as a Rowland Junior Fellow at Harvard University's Ecology Lab, where she received her Ph.D. in Biology in June 2004.
Presidential Early Career awardees are selected for their pursuit of innovative research at the frontiers of science and technology and their commitment to community service as demonstrated through scientific leadership, public education, or community outreach.
"This recognition from the White House of Kristin's outstanding accomplishments and future promise is very well deserved," said CAAFI Executive Director, Richard Altman.
Dr. Lewis is one of ninety-six awardees and the only recipient in the U.S. Department of Transportation.
(Added 10/11/2011)
Volpe Center Supports National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Development of Fuel Efficiency Regulation for Heavy Trucks
A joint NHTSA-Environmental Protection Agency regulation to reduce heavy truck fuel consumption and greenhouse gases was recently published in the Federal Register. The rule—"Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards and Fuel Efficiency Standards for Medium and Heavy-Duty Engines and Vehicles—is the first ever U.S. regulation to control heavy-truck greenhouse gas emissions and fuel consumption. A Volpe Center team—Ryan Harrington, Kevin Green, Don Pickrell, Catherine Taylor, Coralie Cooper, and David Pace—assisted NHTSA in the development of the regulation. The work is part of the Center's ongoing support to NHTSA on the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) program. The Volpe Center's work included establishing approaches to regulate this sector, developing cost estimates for heavy-duty truck technologies, assisting in the Environmental Impact Analysis, and drafting regulation text. As a result of the rule, 270 million metric tons of CO2 and the use of 530 million barrels of oil will be avoided over the life of the vehicles sold between 2014 and 2018. Since the rule will remain in place after 2018, significant savings from the rule will continue to be realized from heavy trucks after 2018. Link to rule.
(Added 10/06/2011)
Volpe Center Career Fair—October 6
Are you interested in a career in transportation, where you can leverage your skills to help address transportation issues in all the different modes? Are you in Massachusetts? Join the Volpe Center in our annual Careers in Transportation Open House & Diversity Fair on October 6, from 11am-2pm at our Cambridge, Massachusetts office. View live demos and learn about our work in the fields of engineering, environmental studies, operations research, public policy, community planning, economics, human factors, computer science, acquisitions and communications! For questions and to RSVP, email Kate Porter.
Event flyer (PDF, 151 KB)
(Added 09/29/2011)
Straight from the Source with Matthew A. Coogan
Straight from the Source
an innovation information exchange for the transportation community
Integration of Air and High Speed Rail: Are We Ready to Do It?
Matthew A. Coogan
Director of the New England Transportation Institute
About the Source: Matthew A. Coogan
Mr. Coogan is the Director of the New England Transportation Institute, a non-profit research institute devoted to intermodal and interdisciplinary issues. Over the past decade he has focused on the deployment of integrated multimodal mobility strategies, and the use of new information technologies in the implementation of those procedures. He graduated from Harvard College in 1969, and later served as a Loeb Fellow in Advanced Environmental Studies at Harvard's Graduate School of Design. Between 1983 and 1991, Mr. Coogan served as Undersecretary of Transportation for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, where he co-founded the Coalition of Northeastern Governors’ Task Force on High Speed Rail. He was appointed by the National Academy of Science to both the Committee on High Speed Ground Transportation and the Committee to Critique the National Maglev Initiative. He has lectured on transportation issues throughout the United States, and in Europe and Asia. He has been featured in Engineering News Record, Architectural Record, The New York Times, USA Today, Bloomberg News Service, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post, and has appeared on The Today Show, CBS News, and National Public Radio.
Presently, Mr. Coogan is serving as Principal Investigator for the Transportation Research Board’s Airport Cooperative Research Program Project 03-23 Integrating Aviation and Passenger Rail Planning. Before this assignment, he served as PI for ACRP Report #31, Innovative Approaches to Addressing Aviation Capacity in Coastal Mega-Regions. In 2009, he served as Prime Contractor in the preparation of A Regional Context for Intercity Passenger Rail Improvements in the Northeast for the Coalition of Northeastern Governors. He was the Principal Investigator for ACRP Report #4, Ground Access to Major Airports by Public Transportation, and for the Transit Cooperative Research Board’s Report #62 Improving Public Transportation Access to Large Airports. He is a founding member of the Board of Directors of the International Air-Rail Organization, based in London, England.
When:
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
12 noon to 12:30 p.m.
Where:
Volpe Center
55 Broadway, Cambridge, MA
Management Information Center 1, Building 1, 12th floor
This event is also available via webinar:
When the event begins, to view the slideshow, go to www.webmeeting.att.com and log in with the meeting number and code below.
Meeting number: 8773361839
Code: 2996006
To connect for the audio conference, the information is the same:
Call-in number: 877-336-1839
Code: 2996006
The Volpe Center is committed to providing equal access to these sessions for all participants. If you need alternative formats or services, please contact Patricia Gordon, Reasonable Accommodation Coordinator, at Ext. 3938 by September 20 so that services may be coordinated.
* The views of this presenter do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Department of Transportation.
(Added 09/29/2011)
Transportation Trajectories with Karen Van Dyke
About Transportation Trajectories
Featuring Volpe Center experts, Transportation Trajectories is a new dialogue on advancing transportation innovation for the public good. You are cordially invited to join the first Transportation Trajectories conversation as Volpe Center staff describe their work and share their knowledge of the transportation enterprise.
About the Event
Recent Developments in Positioning, Navigation and Timing Systems
with Karen Van Dyke
Principle Technical Advisor for Global Positioning Systems at the Volpe Center and Director of the Office of Positioning, Navigation and Timing at the U.S. DOT's Research and Innovative Administration
When:
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
12 noon
Where:
Management Information Center 1, Building 1, 12th floor
Volpe Center
55 Broadway, Cambridge, MA
This event is also available via webinar:
When the event begins, to view the slideshow, go to www.webmeeting.att.com and log in with the meeting number and code below.
Meeting number: 8773361839
Code: 2996006
To connect for the audio conference, the information is the same:
Call-in number: 877-336-1839
Code: 2996006
The Volpe Center is committed to providing equal access to these sessions for all participants. If you need alternative formats or services, please contact Patricia Gordon, Reasonable Accommodation Coordinator, at Ext. 3938 by COB tomorrow so that services may be coordinated.
Meet Karen Van Dyke:
Karen Van Dyke is the Volpe Center Principal Technical Advisor on GPS and Director of the Office of Positioning, Navigation, and Timing at the U.S. Department of Transportation's Research and Innovative Technology Administration. Karen has conducted availability and integrity monitoring studies for aviation applications of GPS for all phases of flight. She was the project lead of a Volpe Center team that designed, developed, and implemented GPS Receiver Autonomous Integrity Monitoring (RAIM) outage reporting systems for both the U.S. Air Force and the FAA, which are used to brief GPS availability to pilots during pre-flight planning. She has worked with the FAA to develop prediction models for the GPS Wide Area and Local Area Augmentation Systems to support the Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) system. Karen also has worked with Australian, German, and Chilean aviation authorities on the implementation of similar systems for use by pilots and air traffic control in these countries.
Ms. Van Dyke was a member of a team that conducted a study for the Office of the Secretary of Transportation to identify and analyze GPS vulnerabilities and interference mitigation techniques for all modes of transportation. More recently she has headed a team of Volpe staff who been supporting the GPS Joint Program Office on development of GPS III, performing the GPS Integrity Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (IFMEA), working with the Federal Railroad Administration on the High Accuracy Nationwide Differential GPS initiative, assessing the use of the GPS Wide Area Augmentation System for maritime applications, and development of a GPS Performance Monitoring System for DECEA (Brazil Aviation Authority).
Currently she is the lead for the DOT Research and Innovative Technology Administration, on behalf of DOT and the civil community, in the development of a National Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) Architecture for 2025 with the National Security Space Office. This effort is in support of the National Space-Based PNT Executive Committee.
Karen received her BS and MS degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell. She is the recipient of the Award for Meritorious Achievement (the Silver Medal) from the Secretary of Transportation and the Superior Achievement Award (the Bronze Medal) from the DOT Research and Special Programs Administration. Ms. Van Dyke served as the President of the Institute of Navigation from 2000-2001. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Navigation (ION) and is the recipient of the ION Early Achievement Award and the Distinguished Service Award. Ms. Van Dyke was a collaborator on the book, Understanding GPS: Principles and Applications (first and second editions).
* The views of this presenter do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Department of Transportation.
(Added 09/20/2011)
Straight from the Source with David Soucie
An innovation information exchange for the transportation community
Looking Beyond Safety Management Systems to Risk IQ—What threats arise when we think our operations are safe? How to REPAIR the internal conspiracy of inaction
with David Soucie
Owner of Sans Souci Enterprises, LLC and
Author of Why Planes Crash—An Accident Investigator Fights for Safe Skies
When:
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
12 noon
Where:
Management Information Center 1, Building 1, 12th floor
Volpe Center
55 Broadway, Cambridge, MA
This event is also available via webinar:
When the event begins, to view the slideshow, go to www.webmeeting.att.com and log in with the meeting number and code below.
Meeting number: 8773361839
Code: 2996006
To connect for the audio conference, the information is the same:
Call-in number: 877-336-1839
Code: 2996006
The Volpe Center is committed to providing equal access to these sessions for all participants. If you need alternative formats or services, please contact Patricia Gordon, Reasonable Accommodation Coordinator, at Ext. 3938 by COB tomorrow so that services may be coordinated.
About the Source:
David Soucie is the owner of Sans Souci Enterprises, LLC., a catastrophe and disaster recovery company based in Colorado. He works with the Federal Aviation Administration as a member of the Safety Management Implementation (SMI) Committee, a Joint Planning and Development Office Working Group, and serves on the Safety Management Systems Focus Group in Washington D.C. Previously, he was an aviation safety inspector and the National Business Process and Information Technology Lead for the FAA and, before that, served as the senior director of technical services for Air Methods Inc., which has recently become the largest helicopter emergency medical operation in the world. Skyhorse Publishing New York, NY has recently published his book Why Planes Crash—An Accident Investigator Fights for Safe Skies, which provides insight and understanding about how to improve and prepare today's safe aviation system for tomorrow.
* The views of this presenter do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Department of Transportation.
(Added 09/07/2011)
Straight from the Source with Peter H. Appel
An innovation information exchange for the transportation community
Transportation Technology and Policy:
a 2011 Perspective
with Peter H. Appel
Administrator
Research and Innovative Technology Administration
U.S. Department of Transportation
When:
Thursday, September 1, 2011
12 noon to 12:30 p.m.
Where:
Management Information Center 1, Building 1, 12th floor
Volpe Center
55 Broadway, Cambridge, MA
This event is also available via webinar:
When the event begins, to view the slideshow, go to www.webmeeting.att.com and log in with the meeting number and code below.
Meeting number: 8773361839
Code: 2996006
To connect for the audio conference, the information is the same:
Call-in number: 877-336-1839
Code: 2996006
The Volpe Center is committed to providing equal access to these sessions for all participants. If you need alternative formats or services, please contact Patricia Gordon, Reasonable Accommodation Coordinator, at Ext. 3938 so that services may be coordinated.
About the Source:
Peter H. Appel was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as Administrator of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) on April 29, 2009. Since joining RITA, Appel has worked with Secretary Ray LaHood to advance key U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) initiatives by leveraging effective research and cross-modal coordination. These initiatives have included two Distracted Driving Summits, which have brought key transportation researchers, advocates, decision makers and other leaders together to address this growing safety issue; the bolstering of USDOT's Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Program to best improve safety, efficiency, and environmental sustainability across all modes of surface transportation; the enhancement of the Bureau of Transportation Statistics' data collection, coordination and analysis capabilities; and the establishment of the Department's Safety Council, which brings together all ten modal administrators to advance transportation safety across the Department.
Before joining RITA, Mr. Appel was with the global management consulting firm of A.T. Kearney, Inc. He has led business improvement initiatives for clients in the private and public sectors, with a focus on Transportation and Infrastructure.
Mr. Appel has over 20 years of experience in Transportation, and has supported organizations in the railroad, trucking, airline, and ocean shipping industries with growth strategy, supply chain improvement, post-merger integration, public-private partnerships, and other key business and policy issues. Previously, he served as the Special Assistant to the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, and as Assistant Director for Pricing and Yield Management at Amtrak. Mr. Appel earned his bachelor's degree from Brandeis University in Economics and Computer Science with Highest Honors, and received his Master of Science in Transportation from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
* The views of this presenter do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Department of Transportation.
(Added 08/24/2011)
Volpe Center Library Profiled in Public Roads
The July/August 2011 issue of Public Roads includes an article about the Volpe Center library —"Volpe Center Library Celebrates 40 years with Facelift."
(Added 08/16/2011)
To view past News, please visit the Archive