NOTE: The work location for this position can be at any MoDOT office (Kansas City, St. Louis, Jefferson City, Springfield, Hannibal, St. Joseph, or Sikeston).

•  Develops and maintains a statewide program of innovations in program delivery, including coordinating with staff to identify, develop, and facilitate innovative options.

• Assists the division director in promoting the division’s programs, and driving and communicating results; represents the department in state and local technical meetings and research panels on policy and innovation programs.

• Works with statewide teams to develop statewide and local-level policy and innovation projects; identifies empirical trends and policy implications of innovative projects and programs and incorporates into project plans, working papers, and published materials.

• Writes, summarizes, and edits research findings and analyses into narrative and/or graphic form to be incorporated into discussion papers, surveys, and other publications and social media; reviews and edits work from team members and external contributors.

• Assists in writing proposals for future projects and grant applications submitted to federal agencies; develops Requests for Proposals for project and program deliverables for contractors, vendors, and consultants.

• Presents research and policy findings to internal and external partners, the general public, and media; authors a newsletter of division activities and program status updates.

• Collects, compiles, and summarizes trends and policy developments for presentation to internal and external stakeholders, including state legislative committees, university research panels, and private sector partners.

• Develops relationships with peer staff at government agencies and other organizations; builds and maintains a network with policy and research partners, internal planning partners, and external community stakeholders.

• Maintains knowledge of policy developments at the federal, state, and local levels in transportation and innovative policy.

• Performs supervisory responsibilities in a manner consistent with the department’s Affirmative Action Plan.

• Performs other responsibilities as required or assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS

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.

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

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!

Thank god this guy chose to focus his energy and investments on transportation, one of the most-neglected fields from an investment perspective.  Elon Musk’s interview is a testament to what one man can aspire and do to inspire a generation with his ideas.

Apart from the ability to show how cool you are, this new innovation from Monkey Light Pros (currently in Kickstarter), will make you  quite visible to motorists and other road users during the night time.. That said, I’m really not looking forward to the possibility of too many Nyan cats flooding our city streets..Hey, as long as it saves lives and gives you a reason to get on the bike, I’m all for it :)

Image via Gizmodo

Gadget/tech stuff blog Gizmodo offers the following details:

• It utilizes a quartet of LED-impregnated bars that fit along the the spokes inside of your wheel. As the wheel spins, the bars rotate and generate the 256-color animated GIFs by exploiting the persistence of vision effect.
• Each unit weighs just 500 grams and fits on a 26 to 29 inch rim using the standard 32 or 36 spoke pattern.
• The system can load up to 1000 frames in a variety of media formats (JPG, GIF, PNG, AVI, MPEG, MOV, QT, FLV) onto a web-based playlist for display (think about blitzing around the town with a different GIF every day! AWESOME!)
• Users can also download the Mac/Linux API to create custom light shows though the system comes preloaded with 10 animations.
• The integrated 7000mAh Li-ion battery supplies 3 – 8 hours of power at full brightness (up to 48 hours on lower settings).
• Cost: a single light system with a $700 and a pair for $1400. They’ll retail for $895 a pop if and when the program funds

New initiative to pioneer 21st century solutions via greater coordination and interdisciplinary collaboration

(Source: MIT News)

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology today launchedTransportation@MIT, a coordinated effort to address one of civilization’s most pressing challenges: the environmental impact of the world’s ever-increasing demand for transportation. Building on MIT’s rich tradition of engineering research and interdisciplinary collaboration, the new initiative will knit together the wide-ranging, robust research already under way at the Institute and create new opportunities for education and innovation.

The program’s creation comes as the global movement of people and things becomes increasingly unsustainable — a problem that cannot be pinned on any one mode of transport. Two-thirds of the world’s petroleum consumption is taken up by transportation-related needs. Projections indicate that demand for petroleum, if unchecked, may outstrip supply within a few decades, while carbon dioxide output across the globe could triple by 2050.

“The global transportation challenge is as multi-faceted as a problem could be, and it is hard to think of an institution better equipped to tackle it than MIT,” said Dean of Engineering Subra Suresh. “By coordinating our own efforts and leveraging connections among faculty across our schools — from researchers exploring efficient new fuels to those studying transportation as a system to those rethinking how our cities are organized — we can make important and innovative contributions and encourage the rapid development of new ideas in sustainability, technology, business practices, and public policy related to all modes of transportation.

(Source: BusinessWeek)

Economic difficulty can inspire extraordinary innovation. We asked futurists what they’d like to see arise from these difficult times

“History reminds us that at every moment of economic upheaval and transformation, this nation has responded with bold action and big ideas.” As President Barack Obama addressed a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, Feb. 24, he took a moment to look back, pointing to the innovations that have arisen from times of difficulty: the railroad tracks, laid across the country in the midst of the civil war; the public high school system that emerged from the Industrial Revolution; the GI Bill that sent a generation to college. Obama’s theme was clear: Times ofeconomic difficulty can inspire extraordinary innovation. And now, even as the markets continue their roller-coaster ride, he described a time “to put in place tough, new common-sense rules of the road so that our financial market rewards drive and innovation and punishes shortcuts and abuse.”

Of course, longed-for innovations don’t always make it to the market. Radically new ideas fortransportation were on most of the futurists’ wish lists, but the chances of a high-speed cross-country train within the U.S. still seem slim (we’re also still waiting on that flying car). But, as vehicle sharing and trackable, more reliable, and eco-powered buses gain popularity, chances are that better urban transit will become a reality.