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Every two years, the Federal Highway Administration confers prestigious awards on transportation professionals in the public and private sectors who work hard to make U.S. roads safe and efficient for all drivers. Nomination deadlines are approaching for two of these three awards programs.
Small, efficient, and accurate wearable sensors have opened up new levels of data granularity for transportation researchers. The authors of a recent paper investigated the state of the practice for wearable sensors, and challenges in using them for transportation research.
From eliminating broken rails and combating punctured tank cars, to making stronger interfaces between rail ties and ballast, Volpe engineers support the Federal Railroad Administration in making passenger and freight rail travel safer.
Successes in Stewardship marks 15 years of documenting successful practices in protecting water quality, wetlands, wildlife, historical sites, cultural areas, and parks while accelerating the completion of transportation projects nationwide. Read the August 2016 anniversary issue to learn about the lasting results of three state DOT projects and the key to long-term successes in stewardship.
Anne Aylward, a proven senior leader and results-driven executive with more than 30 years in the transportation field, has been selected as Volpe’s new director. She is the organization’s seventh permanent director, and the first woman to hold the position.
Invasive species and noxious weeds can destroy entire ecosystems, stemming from something as seemingly innocuous as a seed latching to the bottom of a dump truck. Through the SBIR Program, S-K Environmental developed a novel solution for construction sites that has a 97 percent success rate.
Accurate, complete, and timely crash and inspection data from states lets FMCSA better identify motor carriers that could pose a risk to the traveling public. A newly revamped website is helping improve that data.
Volpe recently opened its campus for an event that showcased the intersection between transportation, safety, health, and human behavior. Tours and demonstrations highlighted vehicle simulators, the B.A.T. Mobile, concussion goggles, a Jaws of Life rescue, and more.
Vehicle automation is paving the way for major societal changes in how we move people and goods in urban areas, according to Dr. Emilio Frazzoli, professor of aeronautics and astronautics at MIT and co-founder of self-driving car company nuTonomy. Through nuTonomy, Frazzoli is working to design an urban taxi network that combines autonomous vehicle and ride-sharing technologies, and can cut into the societal and economic costs of private car ownership and operation.
Transportation connects people—and connections provide economic opportunity. That’s the message that U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx brought during his June 27 keynote address kicking off Volpe’s new speaker series, The Future of Transportation: Safety, Opportunity, and Innovation.