The National Operations Center of Excellence (NOCoE), in partnership with TRB, is sponsoring a video contest: Why Transportation Systems Management and Operations (#YTSMO). Students are invited to submit a 30-60 second video explaining how transportation systems management and operations matters to them as future professionals. To be eligible, candidates must be a student at any level. Prior to submitting a video, follow the Center on Twitter, follow the Center on LinkedIn, and subscribe to the Center’s newsletter.

Submit a video through Twitter and LinkedIn and tag #YTSMO #NOCoE #TSMO in the post. Additionally, notify Patrick Son, Managing Director of NOCoE at pson@transportationops.org about the submission. The deadline for submissions is December 1, 2016. Winners will be notified in early December.

The top two video submissions will receive paid registration and travel to TRB’s 96th Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., January 8-12, 2017. The winners will also have the opportunity to take part in a 30-minute meeting with the NOCoE managing director and an NOCoE board member. The winners will also have the opportunity to write a short article for the NOCoE newsletter about their experience at the TRB Annual Meeting.

Click here to learn more.

Via: http://sixminutepitch.com/

The Six Minute Pitch: A Transportation Startup Challenge is a special Young Member Council (YMC) session at the Transportation Research Board (TRB) 2017 Annual Meeting during which selected presenters pitch their cutting-edge, research-based concept for a transportation product- or service-based business to a panel of distinguished transportation industry investors and entrepreneurs in just six minutes. It’s basically the transportation industry’s national version of Shark Tank, Startup Battlefield, or Dragons’ Den!

Applications for the 2017 Six Minute Pitch are due October 19^th by midnight eastern standard time. Four teams will be selected to present their six minute pitch during TRB’s 2017 Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. in January.  Applications and attendance for the Six Minute Pitch have grown every year since it started in 2013 – and this year is expected to be no exception. Any professional or entrepreneur with a transportation-related business idea or active startup is encouraged to apply.  Preference for selection to participate will be given to young professionals (TRB defines ‘young’ as professionals 35 or younger).  A preference also will be given to individuals who intend to register for the TRB Annual Meeting (see trb.org for details).

New this year, winners will receive a prize valued at approximately $1,200: a one-year membership to the 1776 Union (http://www.1776.vc/union/), a global platform enabling the next billion entrepreneurs to succeed by breaking down barriers & empowering startups to access the resources they need, regardless of location. All participants in the Six Minute Pitch receive valuable exposure and feedback for their ideas, and the winning submission is also typically covered in diverse media outlets.

For more information regarding the Six Minute Pitch:
Check the Six Minute Pitch website:  http://sixminutepitch.com/

Sunday, January 8, 2017 • 9 AM – 12 PM • Washington, D.C.

Unsolved Mysteries: Have a hard-to-solve problem that needs to be solved?

We all are faced with difficult, hard-to-solve problems – so we have created an interactive workshop at the 2017 TRB Annual Meeting we hope will address the unsolved mysteries that vex transportation professionals at all levels of the organizations – from planners to modelers to analysts.  This workshop will present three intriguing, real-world problems selected from a pool of submissions before the workshop.  WE NEED YOUR HELP!   We are looking for real-world transportation problems that can be summarized in a case study from the perspective of an individual or project team.   The case studies should contain pertinent information on the type of problem presented, geographic context, who was impacted and the impact of not reaching a resolution.

The deadline for submissions is October 1, 2016 and submissions can be made using this on-line form at: http://adb50.github.io/analyze-this/   Those who submit ideas that are selected will be provided the opportunity to present their problem at the TRB Annual Meeting.

Last year, workshop attendees had an opportunity to solve one of three mysteries. Coca Cola was seeking corporate strategies to reduce single occupancy vehicle trips. The City of Boulder asked the group to explore repurposing travel lanes for multimodal projects. Lastly, the City of Edmonton had question about how to incorporate connected and autonomous vehicle technologies into the regional travel demand model.

TRB is co-sponsoring the Traffic Control Device Challenge (TCDC), which aims to promote innovation and stimulate ideas in the traffic control devices area with a goal of improving operations and safety. The focus of this year’s TCDC is supporting advanced vehicle technologies, connected vehicles, or autonomous vehicles. In order to focus the submissions, priorities will be given to those that include pavement markings, traffic signing, and/or work zone devices. Submissions are due October 1, 2016, and guidelines for participation are available online.

If selected as a finalist, submitters should either plan to attend or have a representative attend the TRB Annual Meeting, January 8-12, 2017 in Washington, D.C. The judging for the top three submissions will take place during the TRB Annual Meeting. The first, second and third place winners will be expected to attend the American Traffic Safety Services Association (ATSSA) Convention and Traffic Expo, February 12-14, 2017 in Phoenix, Arizona.

Fascinating interview and congrats to winning team.  Very exciting to see the young engineers take to building radically new transportation systems/concepts like Hyperloop that will transform the future of mobility/transportation! Graduate student Chris Merian, chief engineer for MIT’s Hyperloop team, speaks with Radio Boston’s Meghna Chakrabarti about the team’s success in the recent Hyperloop contest

“…really cool engineering challenge that we are really passionate about, and seeing our hundreds of hours of work rewarded like that was really, really nice”

Related articles

• SpaceX selects 124 engineering teams to do battle in Hyperloop pod design competition

The Transportation Research Board (TRB) is sponsoring a paper competition for university students to propose research projects using the SHRP 2 Safety Data, the Naturalistic Driving Study data, and Roadway Information Database. Abstracts should be submitted electronically toSHRP2@nas.edu and are due on September 11, 2015.

Selected students will be invited to present their research at a special poster session at the 2016 TRB Annual Meeting, January 10-14, 2016 in Washington, DC. The TRB Annual Meeting program is expected to attract 12,000 transportation professionals from around the world. In addition, selected students will be awarded the opportunity to write a paper for consideration of inclusion in a special edition of TRB’s Transportation Research Circular.

View details about the competition. The application window is now open.

H/T @YPTransportation.org

Welcome!

The J.M.K. Innovation Prize is an exciting new initiative of the J.M. Kaplan Fund, a New York-based family foundation. In 2015 up to ten Prizes will be awarded to U.S.-based individuals or teams addressing our country’s most pressing needs through social sector innovation.  The Prize will provide up to three years of support at $50,000 per year, as well as a $25,000 “bank” of funds available for technical assistance or targeted project expenses, making a total award of up to $175,000.  Specifically, the Prize seeks to support inter-disciplinary innovation in the fields of cultural heritage, human rights, the built environment, and the natural environment.  The Prize is particularly designed for high-risk, early stage ideas being piloted or prototyped by dynamic visionaries.

The Creation of the J.M.K. Innovation Prize

For three generations, the J.M. Kaplan Fund has provided catalytic funding for projects in their early stages of development.  Whether a pilot project, a new organization, or a nascent initiative, work supported by the Fund has involved a certain level of measured risk that ultimately led to large-scale, transformative results.  The new J.M.K. Innovation Prize will further this legacy, providing funding to visionary social entrepreneurs throughout the United States who are championing emerging social sector innovations.

Differentiation from Other Innovation Programs

The burgeoning field of social innovation has become a recognized area in philanthropy.  The demand for funding of this type, however, has increased so rapidly that many worthwhile ideas fail to find backing from established funders.  The J.M.K. Innovation Prize will fill a gap in this marketplace, not only by providing critical capital to the social innovation field, but also by taking risks on projects that may be seen by others as underdeveloped or too small.

Another difference is that the J.M.K. Innovation Prize will build on the Fund’s longstanding areas of grantmaking interest while remaining flexible enough to allow for fresh and unexpected thinking.  Prize recipients will ideally innovate across at least two of the Fund’s four traditional disciplinary boundaries:

• Cultural Heritage (e.g., historic preservation, archaeology, architecture, arts & culture)
• Human Rights (e.g., immigration, homelessness, incarceration, public health, education)
• Built Environment (e.g., parks, open space, public space, waterfront revitalization, transportation)
• Natural Environment (e.g., oceans, conservation, land use, climate change, alternative energy)

Criteria for Selection

The J.M.K. Innovation Prize will be awarded to projects or ideas that: represent a game-changing answer to a clearly identified need; demonstrate an interdisciplinary or hybridized approach, ideally involving at least two of the four areas of interest to the Fund; demonstrate the potential to develop an actionable pilot or prototype with Prize funding; show scalable impact or impact beyond the initial pilot or prototype; and hold out the promise to benefit multiple individuals, communities or sectors through a clearly articulated theory of change.

Our 2015 Timeline

Interested individuals or teams may apply for the J.M.K. Innovation Prize from January 15 through April 30, 2015.  A short application will be made accessible via this website starting on January 15.  A sub-set of applicants will be invited to submit a second, longer application for the Prize in late spring.  A review of these second round applications will take place throughout the summer, with finalists being flown to New York City in the fall to present their ideas to the trustees of the J.M. Kaplan Fund.  The Prize’s awardees will be publicly announced in November 2015.

Award Details

Awardees are eligible to receive $50,000 per year for three years, as well as a $25,000 “bank” of funds available for technical assistance or targeted project expenses.  Accordingly, the total prize award amount will total up to $175,000 per prize recipient over the three year period.  These funds are intended to allow recipients to focus their attention on their social impact idea.  Awardees will also receive ongoing, dedicated support from the J.M. Kaplan Fund, including networking opportunities at in-person convenings.

Apply Now!

You may access the online round one application for the J.M.K. Innovation Prize from January 15 through April 30, 2015 by clicking here.  We are using the grant management software program Foundant Technologies for this process; the creation of a Foundant account is necessary to view the round one application itself.

Additional Information

For convenience, you may download this one-page document containing the information presented on this webpage. For any additional information, please contact:JMKInnovationPrize@JMKFund.org.

Do you have a new, creative, or innovative idea for addressing a significant transportation challenge? Are you a student, a group of students or a young professional? The George Mason University’s School of Policy, Government and International Affairs wants to hear from you!

In the world of transportation and transportation challenges, it is imperative that we foster the development and implementation of new ideas. Instead of offering the same old solutions–turning the proverbial wheel, but not moving forward– we challenge you to think creatively and offer “outside the box” solutions to complicated transportation policy challenges. So how can you push that wheel forward? How can you affect change?

•  First Prize: $10,000
• Second Prize: $5,000
• Third Prize: $2,500

Examples of significant transportation challenges include:

• Funding for transportation facility and services
• Fostering public/private sector collaboration
• Developing creative new transportation modalities
• Encouraging multimodal solutions
• Reducing community and environmental impacts of transportation facilities and services.
• Enhancing quality of life through access to jobs, medical care, housing, recreation, etc.
• Expanding opportunities for disadvantaged populations.
• Tackling challenges arising from demographic changes and generational shifts.

The award will be announced in the Spring of 2015. Please visit the competition website for details on submission requirements and procedures. http://outsidethebox.gmu.edu/

Applications are now being accepted for the Six Minute Pitch: A Transportation Startup Challenge, a special Young Member Council (YMC) session at the Transportation Research Board (TRB) 94th Annual Meeting during which selected presenters pitch their cutting-edge, research-based concept for a transportation product- or service-based business in just six minutes. Presentations are judged on the basis of the commercial viability of their concept, and the demonstration of how the proposed product or service meets today’s critical transportation challenges.

While no actual investment i awarded at the Six Minute Pitch (per TRB rules), the opportunity to present at one of the most well attended sessions at TRB and to receive feedback from a distinguished panel of investors and successful entrepreneurs attracts a number of high-quality proposals each year.

Confirmed judges for the 2015 Six Minute Pitch include:

• Sean O’Sullivan, of SOSVentures and Co-founder and Managing Director of Carma
• Chris Thomas, Founder and Partner, Fontinalis Partners
• Gabe Klein, COO, Bridj

Now in its third year, the Six Minute Pitch has showcased many successful early stage transportation technology companies. The winner of the 2014 Six Minute Pitch, TransitScreen, a company which provide real-time availability and schedule information sustainable transportation modes, including transit and Bikeshare, has since brought on of the Six Minute Pitch judges, Gabe Klein, on as a strategic advisor, gained new clients, and even had the opportunity to pitch President Obama!

Shutter bugs get ready to click away to some cold cash.. See the AASHTO presser below. 

Washington — The annual Faces of Transportation photography contest is marking its 10th year by adding a video category. Sponsored by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), the national contest asks State DOT employees and private citizens to send in photographs and videos of people, projects, and personal experiences that demonstrate the benefits of transportation.

This year’s competition, themed “Transportation in America,” includes seven awards. Five will be presented in the photography section and two prizes will be awarded in the video portion of competition.

Photography: Photographs will be judged in three new categories: Quality of Life/Community Development, Historic Projects, and Taking the Road Less Traveled. A $125 cash prize will be awarded to the best photograph in each of the three categories. $500 cash prizes will be presented to the winners of both the People’s Choice and the Best Overall Photograph award.

Video Section: Videos will be judged on two levels and in two separate categories. Amateur or novice videos must demonstrate travel experiences in a category called Safe, Smart and Fun. Professionally produced videos will be judged in a category called Innovation in Motion.

The videos (one winner in each category), as selected by AASHTO, will each be awarded $150 cash prizes. The winners, along with other submitted videos, may be featured on AASHTO’s Transportation TV or AASHTO’s YouTube Channel.

Winning video and photography submissions must prominently feature people designing, constructing, using and enjoying the nation’s transportation systems. All entries must represent the positive effects of all modes of transportation on individuals and communities. Photographs and videos which include recognizable individuals must be accompanied with a model release form regardless of category; all photos and videos must include a caption that describes the scene. Failure to meet these requirements may lead to disqualification.

All entries must be received by July 31, 2014. Judging will begin on August 8, 2014. The general public will vote for the People’s Choice Award photograph at the Faces of Transportation web site, www.facesoftransportation.org. Judging will begin August 8 and end August 31, 2014.

The winners of the 2014 Faces of Transportation competition will be announced at the AASHTO Subcommittee on Transportation Communications (TransComm) annual meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona in September. Entry forms and contest rules are available at www.facesoftransportation.org.