“The kinds of things you’re working on and the kinds of achievements you’re delivering are…of widespread bipartisan interest, so as…priorities are recalibrated and redefined, there is no question in my mind that the work of the people in this room will matter enormously to the American people.”  

The U.S. DOT Volpe Center welcomed U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg on November 12, 2024. The Secretary participated in a Town Hall with more than 500 U.S. DOT Volpe Center and U.S. DOT Region 1 staff. U.S. DOT Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology and Chief Science Officer Robert C. Hampshire, PhD welcomed the Secretary, and Gregg Fleming, U.S. DOT Volpe Center Director, moderated the interactive event.  

The Secretary fielded questions on a wide range of topics related to freight and sustainable supply chain, balancing climate resilience, equitable distribution of benefits, and efficient project delivery, travelers in wheelchairs, Tribal transportation infrastructure, the safety of the National Airspace System, and implementing the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. 

“We’re coming up on the three-year anniversary of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, and so much of the implementation of that trillion-dollar package, that generational investment is being shaped by the kind of work that goes on here,” said Secretary Buttigieg. “And what you’ve achieved here is one of the most important things you could possibly be doing in the transportation and infrastructure space, and that is figuring out how to do all of what we do better.” 

During his visit to the U.S.DOT Volpe Center, Secretary Buttigieg also met with our Project Delivery Center of Excellence team and participated in demonstrations in our Human Factors Lab and our QUIET lab. The Secretary last visited the U.S. DOT Volpe Center in December 2022, while our new building was under construction. We opened the doors to our new building in September 2023.   

Reflecting on his tenure as Transportation Secretary, Secretary Buttigieg noted: “The thing I’m proudest of is the team. The quality of the people who are here…who I can just feel are here because you care, because you want to be…some people fall into transportation and some people follow that path from childhood fascination into professional attention to this, but either way you can just feel that people are here because they believe in the work and they want to do it—and that’s something that for the rest of my life, I’ll be very proud to have been part of during my time here.”  

 Supporting Safety with Innovative Transportation Technologies 

 U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg demonstrates safety scenarios in FRA’s Behavior and Railroad Crossings (BR-X) Lab, managed by U.S. DOT Volpe Center staff in our Human Factors Lab as part of the Secretary’s November 12, 2024 visit (U.S. DOT Volpe Center video) 

Accelerating Transportation Infrastructure with the Project Delivery Center of Excellence  

About the U.S. DOT Volpe Center 

Celebrating more than 50 years of federal service to the nation, the U.S. DOT Volpe Center’s mission is to transform transportation for all. 

We're Hiring: Learn more about our open job opportunities, our commitment to equity, and what it’s like to work at the U.S. DOT Volpe Center.