Current News
Our New Organizational Structure
by Kam K. Movassaghi, Ph.D., P.E., M.ASCE
President, Transportation and Development Institute of the ASCE
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How time flies when you are having fun!! This is my last message before stepping down from a rewarding and fruitful year of presidency.
What did we accomplish during this past year? In my assessment-- in addition to our quality specialty conferences here and abroad, very productive and profitable webinars and our journals and publications-- a major accomplishment of last year was our comprehensive analysis of our organizational structure, level of production, and the assessment of our effectiveness.
To read the full article please click here.
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T&DI Updates Its Organizational Structure
Major changes were made to T&DI’s organizational structure at the July Board of Governors meeting. These are the first major changes to the Institute’s council and committee structure since T&DI was founded on October 1, 2002. The changes in the institute’s structure reflect changes in the transportation engineering profession and the Board’s intent to provide more emphasis on the interrelationship between land planning, development and transportation demand.
To read the full article please click here.
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Register for the 2008 T&DI Pavement Conference in Bellevue, Washington on October 15-18, 2008Join ASCE and explore “Efficient Pavements Supporting Transportation’s Future” October 15-18 at the 2008 T&DI Pavement Conference in Bellevue, Washington. Speakers and workshops will confront the challenges of constructing and rehabilitating airport and highway pavements, such as new technologies in pavement design and new construction techniqu Exhibitors don’t miss your chance to show the attendees how your product or service can help them. For more information on exhibiting please visit the website or contact Sean Scully at sscully@asce.org. Conference registration is now open on the website. |
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Third International Conference on Urban Transportation Systems
With gas prices soaring over $4 per gallon in the United States and more than $9 per gallon in other parts of the world, driving to work is not entertaining anymore. Add to that the carbon emissions that vehicles add to the environment. With these realities, public transportation has never been a more attractive solution.
The Transportation and Development Institute’s (T&DI) Public Transportation Committee is organizing the Third International Conference on Urban Transportation Systems. This event will provide a platform to address civil engineering applications associated with all modes of public transportation. The conference will have three parallel tracks consisting of the following topics:
To read the full article please click here.
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Call for Reviewers
Abstracts for the 3rd International Conference on Urban Transportation Systems have been submitted and the authors are finalizing their draft papers. We want to involve as many of T&DI’s 16,000 members as possible in the review process, as well as other interested transportation professionals. We are especially looking for reviewers that can help review papers that have technical excellence, but the translation to English needs some polishing. If you are interested in being a reviewer for this conference contact Pete Sklannik, Jr. at psklannik@wilbursmith.com to volunteer as a paper reviewer. We will put you to work!
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Transportation and Development Institute Journals Seek Paper Reviewers
T&DI sponsors three peer-reviewed archival journals. All are in continuing need of submittal reviewers. Paper reviewers provide a valuable service to the professional community and also can learn new approaches and results from reviewing new papers in their specialization areas. If you are interested in becoming a reviewer, contact the editors, providing your specialty area of expertise and interest:
The Journal of Infrastructure Systems publishes cross-disciplinary papers about methodologies for monitoring, evaluating, expanding, repairing, replacing, financing, or otherwise sustaining the civil infrastructure. Contact: Samer Madamet, madanat@ce.berkeley.edu.
The Journal of Transportation Engineering contains technical and professional articles on the planning, design, construction, maintenance, and operation of air, highway, rail, and urban transportation, as well as pipeline facilities for water, oil, and gas. Specific topics include airport and highway pavement maintenance and performance; management of roads, bridges and transit systems; traffic management technology; construction and operation of pipelines; railway engineering and economics and environmental aspects of urban transportation systems. Contact: Chris Hendrickson, cth@cmu.edu.
The Journal of Urban Planning and Development covers the application of civil engineering to such aspects of urban planning as area-wide transportation, the coordination of planning and programming of public works and utilities, and the development and redevelopment of urban areas. Subjects include environmental assessment, esthetic considerations, land use planning, underground utilities, infrastructure management, renewal legislation, transportation planning, and evaluation of the economic value of state parks. Contact: Gang-Len Chang, gang@umd.edu.
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The Journal of Transportation Engineering seeks submissions to its
Practitioner Forum
Practitioner Forum articles should follow the regular guidelines for ASCE journal submissions, but are intended to report on case studies and professional practice, including recommendations or guidance for other practicing professionals.
Submissions may be made here.
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Illinois Center for Transportation Announces New Funding Agreement; Publishes Several Project Reports
The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) plans to invest more than $15 million over the next three years to continue the innovative transportation research conducted by the Illinois Center for Transportation (ICT) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. This new agreement, effective July 1, 2008, comes as ICT continues to conduct groundbreaking research that includes developing better designs for pavements that use recycled materials, improving work zone safety, implementing technologies to improve bridge safety and monitoring, and utilizing alternative energy sources such as wind. Since its inception in 2005, ICT has grown to become one of the leading transportation centers in the nation.
For the benefit of the transportation community, ICT publishes its final research reports on the Publications page of its website. The final reports for several projects have been completed and published this summer. Please visit the ICT website at www.ict.uiuc.edu for access to its research publications and for more information about the center.
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Improve Your Ability as a Leader – Participate in ASCE’s Leader Education and Development Program (LEAD)
Rising leaders and engineering managers, are you ready to dramatically grow your leadership confidence and skills? If so, attend ASCE’s LEAD Program, an eight month course that begins November 13th at ASCE Headquarters in Reston, VA. Earn up to 45 PDHs/4.5 CEUs, learn skills that can be used immediately in your professional and personal lives, and benefit from the interactive sessions with faculty and classmates. The registration deadline is October 29th.
For information on the course outline, benefits, dates, registration, and more, visit www.asce.org/lead or contact Alicia Karwoski.
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Technical Region Directors Report
August 15 , 2008
Stan R. Caldwell, P.E., F. AEI/ F.ASCE, Technical Region Director
Thomas M. Rachford, Ph.D., P.E., F.ASCE, Technical Region Director
All members of the ASCE Board of Direction are expected to communicate
effectively with the constituents in their respective regions. The Technical Region is a worldwide, virtual region comprised of ASCE's seven Institutes. This report is the second in a series of brief summaries intended to keep you informed of news from the ASCE Board of Direction. Communication is a two-way process. Please do not hesitate to contact me at any time with your questions and concerns. I would especially appreciate receiving any thoughts that you might have on how ASCE and its Technical Region can better serve you.
For the rest of this article, please click here.
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Milestone in Railroad Education
By Ali A. Selim, Chair, O&S Council, and
Chris Barkan, Chair, T&DI Rail Committee
From May 9-11, 2008 over 55 people gathered on the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) to attend the Railroad Engineering Education Symposium (REES). Among the participants were 33 professors from across the country and some from as far away as Nigeria who came to learn more about Railroad Engineering, The American Railway Engineering, Maintenance-of-Way Association (AREMA), and the Rail Committee of the T&DI took the lead in hosting this historic symposium. The idea of the symposium was generated by several professionals who were concerned about the disappearance of Railroad Engineering from most of the curriculums of engineering schools in both the USA and Canada. Other nations like China, Finland, Germany, and Japan already place a strong emphasis on the subject, including schools that have an entire department or college devoted solely to Railroad Engineering. The symposium was a serious attempt to revitalize Railroad Engineering in the United Sates and Canada in order to keep pace with progress in other nations.
For more information please click here.
Announcements
Call for Members – ASCE/T&DI/ICPI Structural Design of Interlocking Concrete Pavement Standard Committee
The Transportation and Development Institute (T&DI) of ASCE and the Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute (ICPI) are seeking members for the Structural Design of Interlocking Concrete Pavement Standards Committee. The committee is developing a consensus guideline for the design of pavements using interlocking concrete pavers in applications of full traffic loading. Membership on the T&DI/ASCE/ICPI standard committees is open to all those who might reasonably be expected to be or who indicate they are directly affected by the activity without dominance by any single interest group: Producer, Consumer and General Interest, including Regulatory. Those interested in applying to the committee should contact Phillip Mariscal, ASCE Standards Administrator, for an application at pmariscal@asce.org or (703) 295-6338.
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T&DI Transportation Safety Committee Seeks New Members
T&DI's Transportation Safety Committee is seeking people interested in becoming a member of the committee. The committee's responsibilities include dissemination of safety information and to provide education and training pertaining to safety issues related to the planning, design, construction and operation of transportation facilities. The Transportation Safety Committee is also the lead T&DI technical committee in planning the Put the Brakes on Fatalities program. If you are interested in becoming a member of T&DI's Transportation and Safety Committee, please send an e-mail to tanddi@asce.org to obtain a committee nomination form.
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Key Contact Program
Public policy information you should know in easy to read briefs. That’s what ASCE’s Key Contact Program can provide to T&DI members. T&DI members are invited to join ASCE’s Key Contact Program and receive “This Week in Washington” a weekly email newsletter with information on issues active in Washington, D.C. and the state capitals. In addition, Key Contacts receive periodic Key Alerts asking for grassroots action from ASCE members on a specific issue.
For more information please click here.
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Participate in the ASCE Salary Survey
ASCE members can win one of 10 $100 Visa gift cards by participating in the 2008 Engineering Income and Salary Survey. Each year, ASCE asks its members to take five minutes to log in and enter their salary data. By becoming one of the more than 20,000 ASCE members who have already participated, the Survey will continue offering official, robust data over 35 engineering disciplines. The Survey gives members the ability to search for compensation data by fields such as licensure, length of experience, location, and engineering grade, as well as set the compensation benchmark for their organization.
Submit your salary information today.
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I-95 Corridor Coalition is Searching for an Operations Program Coordinator
The I-95 Corridor Coalition, a partnership of state DOTs and affiliated organizations from Maine to Florida, is seeking candidates for the position of Operations Program Coordinator.
The Coalition has three program coordinators who provide overall staff support to all activities of the Coalition. The Coordinators work for the Executive Director and provide support to assigned Program Track Committees, and serve the Executive Board, the Steering Committee, the Policy & Strategic Planning Committee, and any designated project management teams and task forces. Additionally, the staff directs the work of the Support Consultants.
To view the full position description please click here.
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Help ASCE Recognize Greatness
Colleagues who have contributed to civil engineering through their outstanding leadership, research or substantial career accomplishments merit the accolades of their peers. The Society’s Honors and Awards Program invites your nominations for the 2008 selection cycle. Of more than 80 ASCE awards, Transportation and Development Institute members will be especially interested in the following:
Awards for achievement:
Distinguished Member
OPAL
Harland Bartholomew Award
James Laurie Prize
Frank M. Masters Transportation Engineering Award
Wilbur S. Smith Award
Francis C. Turner Award
Robert Horonjeff Award
For more information please click here.
Master Calendar of Events 2008
September
First International Conference on Transportation Construction Management, September 9-11, 2008, Orlando, FL.
(T&DI is a co-sponsor)
Webinar- Safety Aspects of Timing Traffic Signals, September 12, 2008,12 Noon - 1 pm Eastern Time
Seminar- Techniques for Pavement Rehabilitation, September 24-26, 2008, Denver, CO.
October
2008 Airfield and Highway Pavements Conference, October 15-18 2008, Bellevue, Washington.
For more information please click here.
Webinar- Reducing Collisions at High Crash Locations, October 22, 2008, 12 Noon - 1 pm Eastern Time
March 2009
Webinar- Reducing Collisions at High Crash Locations, March 6, 2009 , 12 Noon - 1 pm Eastern Time
3rd International Conference on Urban Transportation Systems, March 18-20, 2009, Shanghai, China.
For more information please click here.
Webinar- Safety Aspects of Timing Traffic Signals, March 20, 2009 ,12 Noon - 1 pm Eastern Time
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Become An ASCE Continuing Education Instructor
Share your professional experience and technological advances with your colleagues through ASCE Continuing Education Seminars. As your professional society we need to continually offer the latest information regarding advances and breakthroughs in your field. To do this we need your help - "the practicing engineer". if you are working on something innovative or cost saving that would be of benefit to ASCE consider sharing the news.
For more information please click here.
Product Information
The Transportation & Development Institute in conjunction with Lands' End Outfitters are pleased to announce the addition of the T&DI logo to the Lands' End Family. This logo can be placed on shirts, jackets, sweaters, etc. from Lands' End. Contact Lands' End at www.landsend.com or by phone 1-800-963-4816. Please reference our logo number #0352715W. (There is a fee for the addition of the logo to the garment.)
The Transportation and Development Institute newsletter is a bi-monthly publication of the Institute for its members. Please direct any questions or comments about the newsletter to tanddi@asce.org
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