The Transportation Research Board Young Member’s Council will once again be holding the Six Minute Pitch: Transportation Startup Challenge, during the Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting, January 12-16, 2014, in Washington, D.C. Please see the Call for Presenters (see below) for information on the judging panel and submitting an application to present!

At this session, selected presenters will have an opportunity to pitch their cutting-edge, research-based concepts for transportation product or service-based business to a panel of distinguished transportation industry investors and entrepreneurs in just six minutes. The evaluation panel will provide feedback to each presenter on the viability of the product or service presented in today’s transportation industry. An honorary ‘winner’ of the challenge will be declared at the close of the session. The inaugural January 2013 Six Minute Pitch session was one of the most well-attended sessions at the TRB Annual Meeting – with an attendance of more than 200. Don’t miss the opportunity to participate in this one-of-a-kind TRB Annual Meeting session!

Who can submit an entry? Any professional with a transportation-related business idea or active startup, but preference will be given to young professionals (TRB defines ‘young’ as professionals 35 or younger). A preference will also be given to individuals who intend to register for TRB.

What are the submission requirements? Submit your application using this form. Applicants must also provide a current resume or CV (PDF or Microsoft Word) via email to sjohnson@foursquareitp.com. The submission via email of additional supporting materials, such as concept designs, web links, or existing presentations, is also encouraged. All applicants must describe how their product or service will bring research to commercial application. Presentations should include an interactive element, such as a presentation of a prototype or demonstration of software under development. The use of Prezi or PowerPoint is also permitted.

What topic areas will be covered? Transportation products and services in all modes of transportation. Business concepts that are oriented towards both the end consumer and those serving the transportation industry itself will be considered. Transportation planning and management consulting business ideas will not be accepted.

When are entries due? November 15, 2013 (accepted presenters will be notified in late November)

Questions? Contact sjohnson@foursquareitp.com.

TRB’s Technical Activities Division has an opening for a Senior Program Officer (SPO) to work in the areas of preservation and maintenance of transportation facilities, with an emphasis on highways. Specifically, the SPO will work in the areas of management, personnel, equipment, and materials for preservation and maintenance; preservation and maintenance of structures, bridges, pavements, roadsides, and signs/markings; corrosion; work zone traffic control; and winter maintenance.

Responsibilities include keeping abreast of issues and technical developments affecting the preservation and maintenance areas, providing staff support to TRB standing committees and the Operations and Preservation Group Executive Board; planning and delivering sessions and events for the TRB Annual Meeting program; planning and managing conferences; reviewing and processing reports and papers; traveling to state, local, and federal transportation departments, transportation-related industries, and universities to exchange information about problems and potential solutions and about current and proposed research programs; maintaining ongoing relationships with major TRB sponsors (including the state Departments of Transportation); developing new program areas; serving as liaison to TRB Cooperative Research Programs; responding to inquiries; and performing other related duties as assigned. Supervises work of support and other program staff associated with the projects.

A listing of minimum requirements, full job duties, and application information are available on the National Academies’ Office of Human Resources webpage.

Now that I’ve returned to my office after a week long transportation nerdery (is that a word??) in Washington, DC, I thought of quickly registering a few observations I made during the week.  What I call the TRB Week has three back-to-back transportation events that happen in a week:  it all began with the 3rd Transportation Camp (Jan 12) then followed by the 2013 TRB Annual Meeting (Jan 13-17) and concluded with the Transforming Transportation (Jan 17-18).  As I stated earlier, these are mere observations and shared with the hope that it benefits the attendees heading to DC for future Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting and events planned around that conference.

1. Transportation Camp: My TRB Week began at Transportation Camp here in DC (awesome facility support provided by co-host George Mason University’s Transportation Policy Program) and offered a glimpse of things to come.  This annual unconference is one of my favorite events in the Transportation Calendar for many reasons and continues to remain on the “MUST Attend” category.  As usual, I learned a lot about how much interest there is for biking among the Transportation planning community. Yes! A lot of bike-related sessions.  And the organizers, esp. OpenPlans, did a fantastic job keeping the event pace along.  For some odd reason, there are fewer sessions involving technology, technologists and hacks and more attendance from Transportation planners. My favorite session at this event featured a discussion on safety and security for women riders on Delhi’s Metro rail.
2. 2013 TRB Annual Meeting:  Like in the years before, this conference continues to be at the center stage  for many of us in the Transportation Community and its importance has only continued to grow with more and more participants and innovative programming ideas tested by the organizer (Transportation Research Board).  This event offers a great chance to meet, learn and network with fellow researchers from around the world.  It is also an opportunity for me to catch up with many of my friends and colleagues whom I’ve known for years when they arrive in town.   Coffee breaks, lunch hour and dinner are always booked for me during this conference.  A few notable nuggets from TRB this year:
   • TRB smartphone app –  This was an awesome addition to the slate of conference planning tools, despite having some glitches/difficulties syncing the sesssion information across the platforms (phone/tablet/PC).  I’m hoping this app will be better and much more user-friendly as TRB continues to fine-tune the product in the months ahead.
   • Wifi access –  Internet connectivity during the conference continues to be a big pain but TRB staff noted that relief is on the way when the conference moves from the hotels (Marriott, Omni and Hilton) to the Convention Center in 2015.  This also would render more opportunities to attend sessions that are currently not accessible to many of us due to the logistics involved (riding shuttle buses between hotels is a big deterrent when it comes to planning my sessions at the different hotels though it doesn’t take much time to travel between them).  Thanks to my employer (Citizant, Inc) I was lucky to have had a Verizon MiFi hotspot that allowed me to stay connected to the web at 4G speeds and allowed for a seamless support for my clients throughout the conference.
   • Food – Continues to remain a major sore point as all the eateries around the conference hotels, esp. Marriott, get jammed up quickly with conference goers during lunch times.   The Lobby bar at Marriott continues to be a major attraction for coffee breaks and post-dinner drinks as it can be a great venue to schedule meetings.
   • My first audio podcast interview – Got interviewed for an Audio Podcast by Andy Boenau, a Transportation planner who also does very interesting podcasts with experts engaged in transportation. We discussed various issues randing from social media  in transportation to the evolution of driver-less cars (vehicle automation).   Yet to see the final product and I’m hoping to see it available on Andy Boenau’s website soon (urbanismspeakeasy.com)
   • Social Media – I cannot stress enough the role of Social Media in bringing people together during such large gatherings of people.  The presence of twitter is undeniable as the volume of tweets continue to swell year after year during the conference (and also in the weeks leading up to the conference). Don’t believe me? I recommend you check the hashtag #TRBAM and you will know what I am talking about.   And this shows you how popular Twitter is:  tweet from @TRBofNA today says “3,968 tweets using #TRBAMSun. Jan. 13-Thursday, Jan. 17, 2013. In 2012, we had 2,830 during the same#TRBAM timeframe”. One of the major highlights of the TRB Annual Meeting is the impromptu tweetup I planned with a few fellow Twitterti. This tweetup held at Open City Cafe on Jan 16th  was conceived, planned and executed via Twitter.  We had a great turnout (about 85 people) and full sponsorship from @Uber_DC, the best hi-tech Taxi service at your fingertip.
   • Innovative Programming: TRB staff are testing different formats to keep the audience engaged.  One such effort was the Pecha Kucha style presentation, a 1st for TRB, that I happened to be a part of.  Though the event was slated at the tail end of the conference (Yeah. Wednesday evening 7:30PM start), we had a great turn out.  The moderator (and friend Shin Pei-Tsay) did an awesome job mixing up the line up, alternating between U.S. and European presenters to keep up the tempo.  Each presenter had 20 slides and 20 seconds per slide to tell their story, mostly with visuals (and a sprinkling of text).  I couldn’t have imagined a better format for a tired audience who have endured death by powerpoint all through the week.
   • Networking: I cannot stress enough the importance of networking during the TRBAM Week.  Here are a few words of wisdom for the new and young attendees:
     • Stuff a ton of business cards in your coat/jacket when you arrive at TRB.
     •  Always be willing and ready to tell your story. If it is not too much work, I recommend that you prepare a two minute “elevato r pitch” that tells your story. You never know who will be in that hypothetical elevator with you.
     • Looking for a job? Prepare and print a few copies of your resume and keep it ready for sharing with people interested in your story.
     • Attend as many networking events as possible.  Often you will see many Happy Hours, Receptions, Sponsored Events, etc held along the sidelines of the Annual Meeting. These are great venues for meeting and interacting with cool people.
     • Get a lot of sleep if you can can. That’s one of the toughest things to do when you are in town for just a few days catching up with people and attending sessions.
     • And stay connected on Social Media:  Are you the shy one?  No worries. If you are not so social in person, you may want to start by chatting with your target audience on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. This virtual interaction should definitely give you the confidence to interact with them in person when you are at the event.  Also, from a civic sense, the conversations in the community will only get better when more people start talking. So, don’t hesitate to send out a tweet or post a note on LinkedIn.
     • Do not hesitate to signup for volunteer opportunities, especially at the TRB Committees. If you are under 25yrs old, the committees would be glad to have you added as a Young Member.  Also, a few notable forums that you should consider checking out during the Annual Meeting – Young Professionals in Transportation (they host an awesome reception every year. MUST ATTEND for us transportation professionals), Young Members Council, Womens Transportation Seminar, etc
3. Transforming Transportation – Right on the heels of TRB Annual Meeting, the World Bank and World Resource Institute’s EMBARQ hold this annual event, Transforming Transportation, at the World Bank building, bringing together experts from around the world to discuss sustainable transportation issues.  This year was a bit more special than previous years with the addition of a Keynote by New York City Mayor Mr. Michael Bloomberg, who has a great interest in supporting sustainable transportation initiatives not just in his city but also across the globe. The amount of knowledge sharing that happens in this event is unparalleled and I always walk away with a ton of new ideas that I could easily implement in my world of transportation and communications.  This event also serves as a reminder for me as a professionals practicing the craft in the Developed world, that there are so many challenges that remain unsolved in transportation domain in the developing world.

There are so many more things I’d like to write about but in the essence of time, I’m going to stop here.  Should I find the time and energy in the next couple of days, I’ll do a follow-up post.  If you think I have missed something or should have addressed a few more points, do not hesitate to drop me a note in the comments sections.  I’ll be happy to respond to your comments/suggestions/etc.  Also, do not hesitate to share this article with your fellow Transportation professionals if it will help prepare them for the next year’s event.

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• TRB 2013 Annual Meeting News: Revolutionary Change Cometh – Transportation Practitioners See Industry Transformation with Mobility Data from AirSage(TM)

Cross-posted on YPTVoice, the blog for Young Professional in Transportation (YPT)

TRB Annual Meeting Tips from Ananda Palanisamy on Vimeo.

YPT Voice is pleased to present the sixth in a 10-week series of blog posts to introduce YPTers to the TRB Annual Meeting (#TRBAM) and to help them prepare for the annual conference in January 2012.  A complete summary of YPT-recommended TRBAM events will be available before and during the conference.

Dear YPT-ers,

When I was approached by YPT to share some tips for fellow-YPT-ers in terms of maximizing their benefit while attending the upcoming TRB, I chose to take a different route and opt for a video blog post rather than the the usual text-laden post. Thanks to my wife Chithra Jeyaram (@RealTalkies), a skilled film-maker from Univ. of Texas, I managed to get a quick video post done. Let us know what you think.

Oh, please remember this video only offers some random thoughts and by no means should be considered as a comprehensive tool when you are preparing to attend the TRB Annual Meeting. One item left out in this above video is the possibility of running into poor internet connectivity. Though the lobby at conference hotels offer free internet, it is often slow and not secure. The situation gets even worse when you are holed up in many of the conference rooms during the event. So my advice is to you, if possible, is to bring an aircard that can help you connect to the internet when you are attending the event.

Also, one more item I forgot to mention in the above video is the busy lunch/dinner times in the nearby eateries around the conference hotels, esp. around Marriott and Omni Shoreham. Yes! Trust me it gets very busy and sometimes meetings attendees have to skip lunch in order to make it to the next session on time. So, do not hesitate to hop on the metro Redline and get to the adjacent stops – Cleveland Park & Dupont Circle are located on either side of the Woodley Park/Zoo Metro station. There are plenty of eateries around Dupont Circle and Cleveland Park stations and can help save you considerable amount of time, which you otherwise would have spent waiting in line at the eateries around Woodley Park station.

Finally, do check out the TRB Facebook page and follow the daily updates shared on the feed wall. If you find anything interesting or worth sharing, please do not hesitate to share with fellow attendees.

Looking forward to meeting you all at the YPT Reception.

Previous posts in the #TRBAM  2012 series:

• TRB Annual Meeting Session Spotlight – Choose Your Acronym: Credentials for Transportation Professionals
• TRB Annual Meeting Session Spotlight: Young Members Council Meeting
• My First TRB Annual Meeting: Some Tips for Newbs
• Looking Back: TRBAM 2011
• TRB Annual Meeting: What you need to know

Image via TRB - Beckman Center -- Click here to register and for additional event details.

This year’s ITS Committee mid-year workshop will focus on IntelliDrive(SM) and is planned for September 21-22 at the Beckman Center in Irvine, California. Visit the link above to register and reserve your hotel room. The deadline for reduced hotel rates is August 13.

The goal of the mid-year workshop is to consider the potential impact of IntelliDrive, and the data it will generate, on the various components of the transportation enterprise, including agency organization, finances, and staffing, in addition to planning, operations, safety, and maintenance.  The workshop will bring together public and private sector transportation thought leaders and practitioners to develop research statements that explore how IntelliDrive will affect the work of infrastructure owners and operators.

In addition to the ITS Committee workshop, the ITS Joint Program Office will convene a one-day workshop on Monday September 20, (preceding the TRB meeting) to explore the impact of emerging trends and innovations, shifting priorities and changing requirements on the evaluation of ITS.  The release in early 2010 of the U.S. DOT ITS Strategic Research Plan lays out new goals and initiatives in the ITS Program that impact national and local ITS projects.

The ITS Evaluation Program managers are keenly interested in the input from the transportation community on advancing the practice and increasing the value of ITS evaluation, and identifying the evaluation needs of the transportation community.  The workshop will give participants the opportunity to provide feedback on the Evaluation Program, share innovative evaluation practices, and identify evaluation needs.This intense and engaging two-part event promises workshop participants a great opportunity to learn and to contribute to the continuing evolution of the ITS program.

Click here to access the TRB ITS Committee website.

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• US DOT Issues Request for Information on Uses of ITS Systems and IntelliDrive to Improve Transportation Environmental Performance (greencarcongress.com)

TRB’s second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2) has an opening for a Senior Program Officer with knowledge in highway operations and/or traffic management and experience related to the implementation of innovative technologies or practices within transportation-related agencies or enterprises. Experience in research management is also desired. SHRP 2 is a congressionally authorized research program that addresses critically needed research in highway transportation including highway safety, infrastructure renewal, and congestion relief. This Senior Program Officer will be responsible for managing multiple and/or highly complex research and innovation programs and projects. They will develop program and project strategies, budgets, and resource requirements; and ensure that programs and projects meet their stated objectives. They will also act as a liaison between and coordinate with internal and external groups, organizations, and agencies. A listing of minimum requirements, full job duties, and application information for the opening is available on the National Academies’ Office of Human Resources Web page.

Click here to learn more about the organization and the position.

Early Registration deadline extended to April 30!

This conference brings together more than a dozen TRB Energy and Environmental committees meeting jointly with the AASHTO Standing Committee on the Environment and serves as a platform to develop better transportation solutions through the integration of diverse environmental (human and natural) and transportation perspectives.

Join nationally recognized experts in transportation along with forward-thinking professionals in environmental, planning, community and economic analysis, environmental justice, land use, sustainability, climate change, and transportation fields in a frank and open discussion aimed at sharing experiences, examining the realities of major complex issues, and developing common sense approaches to environmental and transportation challenges.

A preconference workshop on Sunday, June 6, will provide participants with the opportunity to identify critical environmental research needs.

The Conference will be held at the Raleigh Convention Center, a beautiful new facility, centrally located in downtown Raleigh, NC.

Registration

• Early Registration has been extended!
• The conference registration fee of $350 will be in effect until April 30.
• After April 30, the fee will increase to $425.  Conference Participants should register now to save!

Conference Hotel

• A block of rooms will be reserved at the new Raleigh Marriott Hotel City-Center adjacent to the convention center. A conference rate of $92/night plus tax has been established but you must reserve your room by May 8, 2010.

Be a Sponsor

• Overall conference sponsorship provides significant opportunities for relationship building among agency, university, corporate, and non-governmental professionals. Let participants know who you are by getting your information prominently displayed. Find out how you can be a sponsor!

Click here to access the event website for preliminary program and other event related details.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM EDT

In December 2009, an international scan was conducted to identify new ideas and practical, workable models for integrating variable road pricing approaches into state, local, and regional policies, programs, and practices.  Scan team members interacted with host city and country experts from Stockholm, Sweden, London, England, Singapore, Germany, the Czech Republic, and the Netherlands. Specifically, the scan team explored the political, institutional, and technical factors that contributed to the successful implementation of road pricing and, in some cases, to their rejection.

Panelists will present the findings of the scan and will address the potential for road pricing to be a part of a sustainable twenty-first century transportation system.  The scan was conducted under the auspices of the International Technology Scanning Program, which is conducted by the Federal Highway Administration in cooperation with the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials and the National Cooperative Highway Research Program.

Session presenters:

• Robert Arnold, Federal Highway Administration
• Vance Smith, Georgia Department of Transportation
• Patrick DeCorla-Souza, Federal Highway Administration

Moderated by: John Doan, SRF Consulting  (Questions may be posed any time during the Webinar, and are answered at the end of the session).

Registration: Participants must register 24 hours in advance. There is no fee for Chairs of TRB Standing Committees, Sections, or Groups.  There is also no fee for employees of TRB Sponsors: http://bit.ly/9tduwj. TRB Sponsors: Please use your work email to register for the session. Others must pay $99 per site.

There may be situations where a webinar may need to be rescheduled due to unforeseen events.  If a webinar needs to be rescheduled, TRB will contact you via email to provide information about rescheduling the session.

Problems signing in? Contact Reggie Gillum at rgillum@nas.edu or 202-334-2382.

Click here to register.

Monday, April 19, 2010 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM EDT

Learn how to conduct transportation research more efficiently and effectively.  TRB will host a free webinar that provides practical tips for using the Transportation Research Information Services (TRIS), Research in Progress (RiP), and Research Needs Statements (RNS) databases.  Panelists will provide an overview of each database, offer tips on how to refine searches, and demonstrate advanced features added to the databases last year.  Learn how to enter records into the RiP Website and find out how agency publications are entered into TRIS.  Panelists from the University of California, Berkeley and the Montana Department of Transportation will discuss ways that they use TRB databases to enhance their research programs.

Presenters for this session include:

• Barbara Post, Transportation Research Board
• Rita Evans and Kendra L Levine, Harmer E. Davis Transportation Library, Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California, Berkeley
• Susan Sillick, Montana Department of Transportation

Moderated by: Ken Winter, Virginia Department of Transportation

Questions may be posed any time during the webinar, and are answered at the end of the session.

Registration:  Participants must register 24 hours in advance of the Webinar.  This webinar is free for all participants.

There may be situations where a webinar may need to be rescheduled, due to interruptions in GoToWebinar servers or other unforseen events.  If a webinar needs to be rescheduled, TRB will contact you via email to discuss the situation and will provide information about rescheduling the session.

Click here to register. Problems signing in? Contact Reggie Gillum at rgillum@nas.edu or 202-334-2382