Job Alert: Director, Office of Transportation Management @ USDOT’s Federal Highway Administration – Washington, DC

August 29, 2017 at 10:25 am

The U.S. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is seeking to fill the position of Director, Office of Transportation Management. The incumbent serves as a national leader in advancing the operations of metropolitan, rural, and statewide surface transportation systems to enhance mobility, efficiency, productivity, and safety. The incumbent provides leadership and direction to a technical staff in identifying and implementing policies and initiatives to reduce congestion and improve the movement of people and goods across the transportation system. In addition, the incumbent oversees the deployment of Intelligent Transportation Systems technology to improve routine and non-routine transportation management across the nation.

Additional information and a full list of duties are available on the USA Jobs Website. Applications are due no later than September 22, 2017.

Fully Funded PhD in Travel Forecasting and Data Science @ University of Kentucky’s Transportation Engineering and Data Science Lab

December 21, 2016 at 11:38 am

Spotted this announcement below in an email from a List-serve:

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I am looking to recruit one or more talented individuals for a funded PhD in travel forecasting and data science, starting in Fall 2017. Specific areas of interest include:

  • Evaluating and improving travel forecast accuracy.
  • Using passively collected “Big Data” to measure transportation project impacts and model performance.
  • Advancing reproducibility and interchangeability in regional and statewide transportation models.

Qualified individuals may have a background in civil engineering, geography, urban science or a related field. They will bring competence in software development or data visualization and a passion for transportation problems.

The Transportation Engineering and Data Science lab (http://transportlab.net/) is a part of an active and growing transportation group in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Kentucky. We work in close collaboration with the Kentucky Transportation Center, which serves as the research arm of the state Transportation Cabinet.

We are located in beautiful Lexington, Kentucky, a vibrant small city with the nation’s first urban growth boundary. Lexington is famous for bourbon, bluegrass and basketball, and offers easy access to hiking, rock climbing and other recreational opportunities.

Please email me at greg.erhardt@uky.edu to express interest or with any questions.

Kind Regards,

Greg

Gregory D. Erhardt, PhD, PE
Assistant Professor
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Kentucky
261 Oliver H. Raymond Bldg., Lexington, KY 40506
859-323-4856 (office), 859-699-1761 (mobile)
greg.erhardt@uky.edu

http://transportlab.net/

“Why Transportation Systems Management and Operations?” Video Contest: Submissions due December 1, 2016

November 17, 2016 at 10:04 am

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.

Job Alert: General Engineer – USDOT’s ITS Joint Program Office @ Washington, DC

September 29, 2016 at 2:50 pm
Seal of the United States Department of Transp...

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The U.S. Department of Transportation is pleased to announce an opportunity for a General Engineer within the Intelligent Transportation System Joint Program Office (ITS JPO).

The successful candidate will serve on the Policy, Architecture, and Knowledge Transfer team and manage systems engineering, radio frequency spectrum, certification, cybersecurity, and deployment technical assistance projects that are consistent with the ITS Strategic Plan 2015 to 2019 portfolio. The General Engineer will also serve as a technical expert on ITS ranging from the development of connected vehicle core system architectures, application of wireless communication to safety and mobility enhancing systems, certification processes, smart city interoperability, vehicle and infrastructure cybersecurity, and connected vehicle testbed operations and deployment support.

Come join the ITS JPO team if you are passionate about advancing tomorrow’stransportation technologies to create a safer, smarter, more efficient transportation system!

The vacancy is open until October 6, 2016. Please visit the following for more information and to apply for this position:

FHWA.JPO-2016-0017:

https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/451553000/ (open to all U.S. candidates)

FHWA.JPO-2016-0016:

https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/451552800/ (open to candidates that are current or former federal employees or eligible Veterans with VEOA)

A Venn Diagram of the Murky Driverless Taxi Ecosystem

August 22, 2016 at 6:56 pm

Not a day passes without us seeing some major headline about global automakers and shared mobility providers working to revolutionize the mobility landscape. Last week Uber dominated the headlines when the company announced that its autonomous cars (souped up Volvo XC90 SUVs) will be available for its ride-hailing customers in Pittsburgh. And in this process, the company announced that it bought the truck automation company Otto, founded by a couple of former Google Car research engineers.  This was followed by Ford’s major announcement that it intends to deliver high-volume, fully autonomous vehicles for ride sharing in 2021. In addition, the company announced that it is investing in or collaborating with four startups on autonomous vehicle development and doubling its Silicon Valley team.

This torrid pace of acquisitions, expansions, and investments has created a confusing picture for the consumers about who owns what and who is doing what across the domain. I found this Business Insider graph (seen below), part of a big research report (cost $495) very useful in understanding the ecosystem that covers the auto OEMs, suppliers, startups, shared-mobility service providers, etc.  Though it doesn’t capture all the entities, particularly the start-ups, engaged in automated vehicle research/development, it makes a decent attempt to organize them into “bins.”

With heavy influx of venture capital money competing alongside deep pocketed organizations like Ford, GM, Tesla, Google, Uber etc, the race to build the unmanned taxis is now reaching breakneck pace. The traditional OEMs are on a buying spree or making deals with innovative start-ups, in and outside the Silicon Valley.   It is safe to say that pretty much all the automotive heavyweights in Detroit and Silicon Valley are vying for a slice of the lucrative yet untapped “autonomous shared-mobility” space. What I’d like to see someone take a stab at capturing/mapping all those entities involved (incl. those in finance, data warehousing, etc) and present that in an infographic. All I can comfortably say today is buckle up for the ride! It will be a while before this ecosystem stabilizes and be assured that there will be a steady stream of headline grabbing news is coming your way.

Publication Alert: Exploring the Opportunity for Mobility as a Service (Maas) in the UK

August 16, 2016 at 11:18 am

Just spotted this awesome report from Transport Systems Catapult in the United Kingdom that explores the opportunities offered by Mobility as a Service (MaaS) concept and highlights how transportation policy might support MaaS growth. For the uninformed, the Transport Systems Catapult is one of ten elite technology and innovation centres established and overseen by the UK’s innovation agency, Innovate UK.

Mobility-as-a-Service_Exploring-the-Opportunity-for-MaaS-in-the-UK-Web

2017 Traffic Control Device Challenge (Submissions Due October 1, 2016)

August 15, 2016 at 5:45 pm

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.

trafficcontroldevicechallenge

Job Alert – City of Pittsburgh, Assistant Director, Transportation and Engineering

August 10, 2016 at 4:54 pm
Under the general administrative and policy direction of the Director of Public Works, the Assistant Director for Transportation and Engineering will guide the City’s efforts in multi-modal infrastructure planning, programming, design and construction including traffic engineering and operations.  The incumbent assists the Director in implementing the City’s transportation priorities, provides operational and tactical guidance, facilitates communication and cooperation within the department, across City departments, and with a variety of external stakeholders. Responsibilities are broad in scope, allow for a high degree of program and administrative discretion, and are evaluated in terms of overall program and cost effectiveness.
For more information & to apply:

New TRB Report “Shared Mobility and the Transformation of Public Transit” Looks at Shared Mobility in Seven Cities

August 8, 2016 at 11:24 am

A new TRB report, Shared Mobility and the Transformation of Public Transit examines the relationship of public transportation—including paratransit and demand responsive services—to shared modes, including bikesharing, carsharing, microtransit, and ridesourcing services. The research included participation by seven cities: Austin, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, DC. The report’s conclusion sets out actions that departments, and other local and regional agencies—can take to promote useful cooperation between public and private mobility providers. It also suggests regulatory enhancements, institutional realignments, and forms of public-private engagement that would allow innovation to flourish while still providing mobility as safely, broadly, and equitably as possible (via FHWA)

New TRB report, Shared Mobility and the Transformation of Public Transit

Job Opportunity: Research and Demonstration Program Manager @ USDOT’s ITS Joint Program Office

August 4, 2016 at 7:08 pm
Seal of the United States Department of Transp...

Seal of the United States Department of Transportation. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Intelligent Transportation System Joint Program Office (ITS JPO) is pleased to announce the following opportunity:  Research and Demonstration Program Manager. Applications for this position must be in by Monday, August 15, 2016.

The successful candidate will be responsible for developing, in close coordination with the ITS JPO staff, the research direction for the ITS program. This includes recommending research initiatives, monitoring relevant research, coordinating ITS research with other modes through venues such as Research Planning and Investment Coordination (RPIC) and may include University Transportation Centers (UTC), representing the ITS JPO in research forums, and coordinating with other ITS JPO staff to ensure seamless execution of projects from research, testing, technology transfer, and evaluation.

The Program Manager is also responsible for leading specific research projects within the ITS JPO. The incumbent is a recognized ITS expert who often represents the Department on ITS technical program issues. You will also participate in a range of other ITS program technical and research activities involving other DOT and Federal organizations and other agencies, such as the Transportation Research Board (TRB), Department of Commerce, Department of Justice, and Department of Energy.

This is an exciting opportunity if you are experienced in analyzing and reviewing ITS research and deployments and adept at collaborating with public and private transportation stakeholders on the implementation, commercialization, and communication of ITS technologies.  Come join the ITS JPO team if you are passionate about advancing tomorrow’s transportation technologies today to create a safer, smarter, more efficient transportation system!

For additional information and to apply for this position, please use the links below:

Transportation Specialist, GS-2101-14/15 (Open to Status & VEOA Applicants)

https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/446638200

Transportation Specialist, GS-2101-14/15 (Open to All U.S. Citizens)

https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/446638600

To learn about applying for careers at U.S. DOT please visit this link