Transportation solutions for the 21st century

Posted: November 04, 2010

Potential solutions to transportation challenges in Arizona and throughout the world will be explored in two upcoming events at Arizona State University that bring together researchers, economists, engineers and leaders of government transportation agencies to examine  the environmental, technological, economic and energy issues affecting efforts to develop sustainable transportation systems.

Experts to explore 21st-century transportation challenges

Steep increases in energy consumption in rapidly developing countries have made it increasingly critical to develop transportation policies and technologies that help reduce the negative environmental impacts from burning conventional fossil fuels.

The issue will be a primary focus of the First International Symposium on Advances in Transport Sustainability (ISATS 2010), Nov. 17-19, at the Memorial Union on the Tempe campus. (General sessions will take place in the Alumni Lounge, room 202.)

“Around the world, the rate of economic growth is threatening our ability to develop sustainable urban transportation systems that preserve resources and the environment for future generations,’’ said symposium organizer Ram Pendyala, a professor of transportation systems in the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, one of ASU’s Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering.

“This is particularly true in rapidly developing countries that are experiencing a surge in transportation demand and vehicular travel as a result of human activity tied to economic development,” Pendyala said.

The Association of Transportation Professionals of Indian Origin is organizing the symposium with the support of the International Road Federation and the national Transportation Research Board.

A globally diverse group of professionals working on specific solutions to the challenges will outline technological and policymaking progress necessary to develop sustainable transportation sources and systems.

Pendyala said the path to such progress is often hampered by the misperception the there are conflicts between economic expansion and sustainability goals. The symposium will explore how economic growth, efforts to alleviate poverty and achieve environmental and energy sustainability are compatible objectives.

Speakers and presenters include:

• Victor Mendez, administrator, Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation Mendez oversees the Federal Highway Administration’s 2,900 employees in Washington and field offices across the country and provides executive guidance on strategic initiatives and policy.  Mendez has served as Director of the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT).  Most recently, Mr. Mendez served as director of the Arizona Department of Transportation and in 2003 was elected president of both the Western Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.

• John Horsley, executive director, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. In 1999, Horsley became executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, which advocates policies and provides technology leadership on behalf of states to improve the nation’s transportation system. He serves as associate deputy secretary of transportation from 1993 to 1999 as the department’s advocate for intermodal policies, quality of life initiatives, and as liaison to state and local governments, Congress and transportation constituencies.  He is past president of the National Association of Counties, and was founding chairman of the Rebuild America Coalition.

• John Halikowski, director, Arizona Department of Transportation.
Halikowski served 12 years in the Arizona House of Representatives as director of research. He was responsible for drafting, presenting, researching and working with constituencies on transportation-related legislation. He was involved in major legislation, including the Maricopa County transportation plan, state highway construction acceleration, privatization, DUI violation, transportation finance and graduated driver licensing.  He spent six years with Arizona Department of Transportation serving in various capacities, including executive assistant to the director of the Motor Vehicles Division (MVD), deputy director of the driver license program, legislative liaison, MVD customer services and central processing administrator and MVD deputy director and operations chief.  He received his bachelor’s degree in communications from ASU.  Halikowski is the chair of the AASHTO Standing Committee on Research of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials and co-chair of the Arizona-Mexico Commission, Transportation-Infrastructure and Ports Committee.

• Kumares C. Sinha, Edgar B. and Hedwig M. Olson Distinguished Professor of Civil Engineering at Purdue University. Kumares made important, wide-ranging research contributions in the areas of highway infrastructure performance, rehabilitation, finance, and safety, and provided expert guidance that has shaped infrastructure management systems and practices used throughout the nation and the world.  He’s been engaged in U.S. Transportation Research Board and American Society of Civil Engineers for four decades. He’s been engaged in U.S. Transportation Research Board and American Society of Civil Engineers for four decades and is recognized as one of the leading thinkers of the field. He is the author of “Transportation Decision Making: Principles of Project Evaluation and Programming,” and served as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Transportation Engineering for many years. He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2008 and received the 2009 Roy W. Crum Distinguished Service Award of the Transportation Research Board in recognition of his outstanding leadership in transportation research and education.

• Daniel Sperling, director, Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California at Davis. Sperling is a recent recipient of the Heinz Award, recognizing achievements that constructively address global change in unique, innovative and powerful ways. The Heinz Award recognized Sperling for research of alternative transportation fuels and his responsibility for the adoption of cleaner transportation policies in California and across the United States. Sperling is recognized as a leading international expert on transportation technology assessment, energy and environmental aspects of transportation, and transportation policy. He has testified numerous times before Congress and state legislatures, and made presentations at international conferences in Asia, Europe, and North America. He is the author of  “Two Billion Cars” and 10 other books, and lead author of the  2007 International  Panel on Climate Change Report  “Mitigation of Climate Change,” and a recent member of 13 National Academies committees on energy efficiency, gasoline taxes, hydrogen, transport in China, biomass fuels research and development, sustainable transportation, and related topics. Sperling is widely cited in leading newspapers, and has been interviewed on National Public Radio, including on the shows Science Friday, Talk of the Nation and Fresh Air, and on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

• V.S. Senthil, Indian Administrative Service Economic Minister, Embassy of India, Washington, D.C. Senthil has been a member of the prestigious Indian administrative service for more than 25 years.  He is the head of the economic wing in the Embassy of Indian the United States and is responsible for enhancing India-U.S. economic relations. His works also focuses on energy, agriculture, urban development and environment and climate-change issues.   He has been joint secretary in the Ministry of Finance for India’s government and finance and revenue secretary in the government of the state of Kerala.  He has worked extensively on formulation of fiscal policies and strategies, infrastructure financing models – especially for putting in place enabling environment and systems. He has served as member of several technical working groups organized by the Reserve Bank of India and was a member of the State Finance Commission on Local Government Resource Transfers. Senthil has a master’s degree in agricultural economics and a master’s of business administration.

• Michael Cheetham, executive director of the India Science and Technology Partnership, director of the U.S. Secretariat to the Indo-U.S. Science and Technology Forum. Cheetham has been involved in international technology and policy collaboration for more than 15 years, including seven years at the National Academy of Sciences, during which he worked on bilateral energy and environment policy studies with India and China.

For more information on ISATS2010, visit http://www.isats2010.org/index.html

Paving the way to more sustainable Arizona roads

How can the quality of road construction and maintenance be improved even in economically challenging times?

In the past 20 years engineers have significantly improved roadway design, construction and maintenance. But diminishing resources and funding make it critical to achieve further advances that will enable roads to be made more durable and safer, while economizing on project costs.

Experts from ASU, the Arizona Department of Transportation, the road construction industry and local governments will convene at the 2010 Arizona Pavements and Materials Conference, Nov. 16-17, in the Ventana Room (241) of the Memorial Union on the Tempe campus, to examine innovations in road building and maintenance.

“We’re hoping to draw attention to the advancements in technologies and pavement materials that could improve the cost-efficiency of road projects in Arizona, as well as increase the service life of roadways and prevent damaging environmental consequences,” said conference organizer Kamil Kaloush, an associate professor in the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment.

Students in the school will also participate in the conference, and several will have an opportunity to present their research.

The conference committee also provides some funding for students to travel to other national transportation conferences, along with funding for student projects that serve local communities and industry.

Speakers and presenters include:

• Kamil Kaloush, associate professor  in the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment , one of ASU’s Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering. He is director of the National Center of Excellence on SMART Innovations for Urban Climate and Energy (www.asuSMART.com), which focuses on research and development of sustainable materials and renewable technologies.

• Jim Delton, materials engineer for the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) and co-chairman of the conference. He and other ADOT experts will be joined by representatives from the Federal Highway Administration, the Associated General Contractors of America, consulting companies, contractors and Arizona State University professors, researchers and students.

• Lee McPheters, research professor of economics in ASU’s W. P. Carey School of Business and director of the school’s JPMorgan Chase Economic Outlook Center. His writings on the Western region issues have been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Economist, Business Week, The New York Times, and Newsweek as well as major metropolitan area newspapers throughout the nation. He has appeared nationally on Good Morning America and CNN news, commenting on the economies of the Western states. His recent research has emphasized transportation issues in economic development, with support from the U. S. Department of Transportation, ADOT, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Boeing and other public and corporate sources.

• Ken Simonson has been chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America for almost a decade.  He has more than 35 years of experience analyzing, advocating and communicating about economic and tax issues. He is interviewed and quoted frequently by local and national news media, including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and CNBC.

• Sayfe Kiaei, associate dean of Research, Graduate and Professional Programs in the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, is the director of Connection One, a National Science Foundation Industry-University Collaborative Research Center. He worked for Motorola before coming to ASU in 2001. He teaches and conducts research in wireless transceiver design, communication circuits and analog circuits.

For more information on the conference, visit http://pavement.engineering.asu.edu/agenda.html

Sources:

Ram M. Pendyala, [email protected]
Professor, Transportation Systems
School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment

Kamil Kaloush, [email protected]
Associate Professor
School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment
(480) 965-5509

Media Contact:

Joe Kullman, [email protected]
Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering
(480) 965-8122 direct line
(480) 773-1364 mobile