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Transportation awards for US experts

Key awards for thought leadership in transportation have been given out in the US to senior figures in the sector. These were given to three leaders in transportation academia, six students, and one long-time industry advocate. The awards were presented by the Council of University Transportation Centers (CUTC) on the basis of the winners having made outstanding contributions to transportation research and education.
January 25, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
Key awards for thought leadership in transportation have been given out in the US to senior figures in the sector. These were given to three leaders in transportation academia, six students, and one long-time industry advocate. The awards were presented by the Council of University Transportation Centers (CUTC) on the basis of the winners having made outstanding contributions to transportation research and education.

Norman Mineta, former U S Secretary of Transportation, and Dr Edd Hauser, director of the Center for Transportation Policy Studies at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte, were each given Lifetime Achievement in Transportation Research and Education Awards.

Mineta was chosen in the non-academic category for his extensive contributions to transportation research and education. The award is for individuals who have served in government, business or non-governmental organisations. Dr Hauser received the award for distinguished contributions to university-level transportation education and research.

The CUTC-American Road & Transportation Builders (ARTBA) New Faculty Award meanwhile was presented to tenure-track educators in recognition of outstanding teaching and research contributions. This was given to Dr Vikash V Gayah, assistant professor at 2882 Pennsylvania State University.

The CUTC-ARTBA Administrative Leadership Award: Honors individuals in a staff or non-tenure-track faculty position who have made outstanding administrative leadership contributions to the field of transportation. This was given to Ines Aviles-Spadoni, coordinator of research programmes at the Southeastern Transportation Research, Innovation, Development & Education Center (STRIDE) at the University of Florida Transportation Institute (UFTI).

The Milton Pikarsky Memorial Award was presented to two graduate students in the transportation field for the best doctoral dissertation and MS thesis with an emphasis on science and technology. These students were Dr Alexandre Jacquillat, 4005 Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Michael Levin, the University of Texas at Austin.

The Charlie V Wootan Memorial Award is given annually to two graduate students in the transportation field for the best doctoral dissertation and MS thesis with an emphasis on policy and planning. These were Dr Maite Pena-Alcaraz and Samuel J Levy, both of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The Neville A Parker Award recognises the best non-thesis paper in the field of policy and planning in transportation studies. This was presented to Rebecca Walters of the Mineta Transportation Institute at San José State University, and Yu (Julie) Qiao of Purdue University.

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