Transportation issues, from infrastructure and roadway materials to driver behavior, will be the subject of a half-day forum sponsored by the Connecticut Transportation Institute(CTI). The Thursday, November 5 program, which is open to the public, will kick off at 8 a.m. in the Rome Commons Ballroom at the Storrs campus.
The forum, coming just a week after the heavily traveled San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge was shut down due critical failure of rods and a crossbar, will highlight research underway at UConn and include presentations by federal and state transportation officials. Keynote speaker and alumnus Jeffrey Paniati (B.S. ’82), Executive Director of the Federal Highway Administration, will discuss national issues and the state of the nation’s transportation infrastructure. Joseph Marie, Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Transportation, and James Sime, Manager of Research for the Connecticut Department of Transportation, will also deliver remarks.
UConn civil engineering faculty and administrators associated with CTI will present research findings and discuss transportation system design and best practices, education and policy. Topics will include bridge monitoring, parking design impacts, the effect of roadway design on driver behavior, various asphalt and construction materials, emissions from traditional versus hybrid vehicles, mass transit, professional development, smart design and transportation security.
CTI, which operates within the School of Engineering and serves as a research and educational center involving faculty from the Civil & Environmental Engineering department as well as other units of the university, conducts integrated multidisciplinary research, education and related services relating to intelligent transportation and encompassing safety and efficiency in multi-modal passenger and freight transportation systems and, in turn, enhance livable communities, sustainable economies and the environment. It is also the nexus for activities conducted by the Center for Resilient Transportation Infrastructure, a U.S. Department of Security Center of Excellence in Transportation Security.
View the forum agenda here. For additional information concerning the forum, or to register for the event, please contact Vivian Castelli at vivianc@engr.uconn.edu.
