A New Thought Leadership Series at Volpe

Advances in communications, connected vehicles, navigation, robotics, and smart cities—coupled with a surge in transportation-related data—are poised to dramatically change how we travel and deliver goods and services.

What will transportation look like 10, 20, or 30 years from now? Be part of Volpe’s newest speaker series—Beyond Traffic 2045: Reimagining Transportation—to delve into the trends that will transform transportation.

This series will continue the conversation started by Beyond Traffic, the U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) framework for a frank discussion about the shape, size, and condition of our transportation system.

Beyond Traffic 2045: Reimagining Transportation will kick off September 18 with a special video introduction from U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, followed by opening remarks from Gregory D. Winfree, DOT Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology.

Speakers and Dates

The following speakers will bring to Volpe their unique perspectives on how transportation will change over the coming decades:

• Andrew McAfee, PhD, principal research scientist and co-founder of the Initiative on the Digital Economy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and co-author of The Second Machine Age
  Friday, September 18, 2015
   
• Edward L. Bolton Jr., assistant administrator for NextGen, Federal Aviation Administration, U.S. DOT
  Wednesday, September 30, 2015
   
• Donald L. Fisher, PhD, faculty fellow at Volpe, U.S. DOT, and professor and former head of the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at the University of Massachusetts Amherst
  Wednesday, October 7, 2015
   
• John A. Cavolowsky, PhD, director of the Airspace Operations and Safety Program at the NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate
  Tuesday, October 20, 2015
   
• John B. Heywood, PhD, professor of mechanical engineering and Sun Jae Professor, Emeritus, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  Thursday, November 5, 2015

• Harry Lightsey, executive director of the Global Connected Customer at General Motors
  Thursday, November 12, 2015
   
• Kaigham (Ken) J. Gabriel, PhD, president and CEO of The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory
  Tuesday, November 17, 2015
   
• Anthony Townsend, PhD, senior research scientist at New York University, fellow at the Data and Society Research Institute, and author of Smart Cities: Big Data, Civic Hackers, and the Quest for a New Utopia
  Tuesday, November 24, 2015
   
• Chris Urmson, PhD, director of the Self-Driving Car Program at Google
  Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Our transportation system is already facing unprecedented challenges, and the need for bold ideas has perhaps never been so pressing. Bring your creativity and vision, and join us via webinar or in person to discuss the innovations that will help us reimagine transportation.

Remember to regularly check our Events page and Twitter feed for updates on speakers, dates, and topics.