January–February Newsletter

U.S. DOT Volpe National Transportation Systems Center

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

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u s department of transportation volpe center

U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology 

February 27, 2018

The U.S. DOT Volpe Center’s Annual Project Accomplishments

Annual Accomplishments 2018 highlights some of the Volpe Center’s best work from the past year. Carried out with U.S. DOT and other partners in the public, private, and non-profit sectors, these programs and initiatives advance U.S. DOT’s strategic goals of safety, infrastructure, innovation, and accountability. Read the report and watch video highlights from five of our featured projects.

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Event News and Video

Transforming Transportation

See video highlights and news from our 2017 speaker series, The Ongoing Transformation of the Global Transportation System.


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The U.S. DOT Volpe Center’s 2017 Reports

The U.S. DOT Volpe Center published more than 70 reports and conference papers in 2017 spanning a breadth of transportation topics that advance U.S. DOT’s priorities: safety, infrastructure, innovation, and accountability. Peruse the topics and download copies of our 2017 transportation resources. Read the full story.


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What Blockchains Could Mean for Transportation and Government

A new report from the U.S. DOT Volpe Center is a high-level primer that covers blockchain technology basics, how smart contracts work, potential and current applications in government and transportation, challenges to widespread implementation, and blockchain initiatives in transportation and government. Read the full story.


elevated expressway

FHWA Workshop at Volpe Advances Knowledge on Performance Measures

Data-driven decisions can improve performance. The Volpe Center supports the Federal Highway Administration Transportation Performance Management office in moving FHWA and its partners toward a more performance-based assessment of the nation’s roadways. Read the full story.


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Pooling Resources to Improve Road Safety

A new project to make streets safer is using an innovative funding model to help six major cities develop best practices for technologies to help truck drivers avoid or mitigate collisions with pedestrians and bicyclists. Read the full story.


Jeffrey Schnapp

The Ongoing Transformation of the Global Transportation System: Final Report

The Volpe Center’s recent though leadership series convened experts in transportation innovation, design, policy, and planning. Read the final report on the insights they presented.


SBIR

U.S. DOT’s SBIR FY 2018 Solicitation Is Now Open

Small businesses are invited to submit research proposals for the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (U.S. DOT) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program fiscal year 2018 solicitation. The solicitation is open through March 20, 2018. Learn more and apply.


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Optimizing Freight and Fuel Movement with Flow Analysis

From a single operator to an entire system, Volpe experts help transportation professionals understand how goods and people move today—and how they can move better in the future. Read the full story.


Jobs at volpe

The following professional opportunity is available at Volpe:

  • Supervisory Mechanical Engineer

Volpe Experts in the Field

Volpe staff engaged in the following noteworthy activities in January and February:

  • Aviation Safety: In support of FAA, Larry Barr, PhD, participated in a meeting with the Joint Implementation Measurement and Data Analysis Team (JIMDAT) and the Commercial Aviation Safety Team at the Boeing Company offices in Crystal City, Virginia, January 30–February 1. JIMDAT is a joint government and industry working group that provides recommendations for implementation of technologies or procedures to enhance the safety of the National Airspace System.

  • Aviation Safety: Divya Chandra, PhD, briefed the FAA Air Traffic Organization (ATO) Top 5 team on February 12 on the results of a study looking at flight deck human factors and safety issues related to altitude compliance along instrument flight procedures. The ATO is committed to continually improve safety programs to best address the highest-risk safety issues in our National Airspace System.

  • Forces to Flyers Program Design and Implementation: In support of the Office of the Secretary, Volpe is in the process of designing the Forces to Flyers demonstration program and planning the acquisition of flight training services to support military veterans in transitioning to careers as airline pilots.

  • Rail Safety: In support of FRA, Ted Sussmann presented a paper, co-authored with Hugh Thompson of the FRA Office of Research, Development, and Technology, titled Methods to Assess the Impact of Ballast Condition on the Track Structure during the American Society for Testing and Materials Symposium on Railroad Ballast Testing and Properties, held January 24 in New Orleans, Louisiana. 

  • Rail Safety: Mike Carolan assisted the FRA Forensic Investigation Team with investigating the February 4, 2018, Amtrak/CSX collision that resulted in the fatalities of two Amtrak employees and injuries of multiple passengers. Volpe’s rail passenger equipment crashworthiness team provided additional technical and logistical support and served as technical experts to the FRA Forensic Investigation Team.

  • TRB Annual Meeting: Volpe Center staff from across the organization participated in the Transportation Research Board’s (TRB) 97th Annual Meeting, held January 7-11 in Washington, D.C. Staff presented papers and posters and facilitated and led workshops on a diverse array of transportation topics. Learn more about Volpe’s TRB activities.

  • Vehicle-to-Infrastructure Deployment: In support of ITS JPO, Hannah Rakoff facilitated a January 11-12 meeting and work session in Washington, D.C., of the European Union-U.S. Vehicle-to-Infrastructure Working Group. The exchange brought together experts from U.S. DOT and the European Commission to leverage each other’s research on security of cooperative vehicles, related radio spectrum questions, and initial cybersecurity topics. The meetings also allowed for peer review to ensure that the traveling public enjoys a robust and secure transportation system.

    Geographic Information Systems

    Technology Assessment

    Thought Leadership

    Transit Planning

    Transportation Planning

      Vehicle-to-Vehicle Technology