FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ITS America Members Honored by White House
as 2013 Transportation Champions of Change
Washington, D.C. (May 9, 2013) – The Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America) today congratulates three of its members, Michael Pack from the University of Maryland Center for Advanced Transportation Technology Laboratory (CATT Lab), Dr. Thomas Dingus from the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute and Bernie Arseneau representing Sue Groth from the Office of Traffic, Safety and Technology, Minnesota Department of Transportation, for being named 2013 Transportation Champions of Change.
“We are honored to have three ITS America members recognized by the White House and Secretary Ray LaHood as transportation Champions of Change,” said ITS Americas President and CEO Scott Belcher. “All three Champions are challenging the status quo to bring positive change to the nation’s transportation system. They are at the forefront of deploying high-tech solutions for data sharing and dissemination to improve the safety and efficiency of our nation’s roadways.”
The 2013 White House Champions of Change event recognizes individuals and organizations that have embraced the concept of “Transportation Technology Solutions for the 21st Century” across the country. The event featured Champions from across the transportation industry that are providing significant leadership in the development or deployment of transportation technology solutions for the 21st Century at the local, state or regional level.
U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, Federal Highways Administrator Victor Mendez, Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff, Research and Innovative Technology Administration Deputy Administrator, Greg Winfree, and Maritime Deputy Administrator Paul Jaenichen, were all in attendance to recognize and congratulate the Champions.
“These Champions represent the very best in American leadership, innovation, and progress,” said Secretary LaHood. “I’m proud to recognize these transportation leaders who work every day to grow our economy and help us reach our destinations more quickly, efficiently, and safely.”
Following the ceremony, Champions participated in facilitated interactive panel discussions to highlight their innovative work. Read more about the Champions of Change event by visiting U.S. DOT’s Fast Lane Blog post: White House Champions of Change features tech innovators in transportation.
ITS America’s members were each recognized for their following work in intelligent transportation systems:
Michael Pack, University of Maryland Center for Advanced Transportation Technology Laboratory (CATT Lab), College Park, Maryland
Mr. Michael Pack is the Director of the CATT Laboratory at the University of Maryland and the creative director of Regional Integrated Transportation Information System or RITIS. RITIS is an automated transportation data sharing, dissemination, and archiving system that facilitates better communication between government agencies and the public. As a career public servant, Michael strives to dramatically change the way agencies think about information sharing and the importance of better visual communication and transparency. His work is enabling more efficient use of government resources—allowing researchers and transportation professionals to dedicate more energy towards solving important transportation problems through data and user-friendly analytics tools.
Dr. Thomas Dingus, Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, Blacksburg, Virginia
Dr. Thomas Dingus is the Director of the Virginia Transportation Technology Institute (VTTI) and is being honored for his work in developing and testing connected vehicle and other smart transportation technologies. Under his leadership, the VTTI has been instrumental in conducting transportation safety and human factors research. Examples include the safety and usability of advanced in-vehicle devices, the development of crash avoidance technology with simulators and test-tracks, large-scale studies of driver performance and truck driver fatigue, and driver distraction and attention research. Dr. Dingus has led a team of researchers to develop a data acquisition system, providing an opportunity to gather continuous video and driving performance data in real-world driving conditions. To date, these systems have been installed in nearly 4,000 vehicles deployed across the U.S. and in several foreign nations. This method of data collection and analysis provides unprecedented information about the causes of crashes to designers and policy makers who can develop countermeasures that will lead to reduced crashes and fatalities.
Sue Groth, Office of Traffic, Safety and Technology, Minnesota Department of Transportation St. Paul, Minnesota
The Minnesota Office of Traffic, Safety and Technology (OTST) has been selected as a Champion of Change for their work to reduce fatal and life changing crashes on Minnesota roadways, while enhancing mobility for all users. OTST is being honored for designing, testing and helping to deploy dozens of life-saving rural intersection conflict warning systems (RICWS) throughout Minnesota, while leading a national effort to do more of the same throughout rural America. These systems save lives at rural intersections that might otherwise not warrant or afford more traditional traffic control devices or geometric improvements.
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The Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America) is the nation’s largest organization dedicated to advancing the research, development and deployment of Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) to improve the nation’s surface transportation system. To learn more about ITS America visit www.itsa.org or www.twitter.com/ITS_AMERICA.
The Champions of Change program was created as a part of President Obama’s Winning the Future initiative. Each week, a different issue is highlighted and groups of Champions, ranging from educators to entrepreneurs to community activists, are recognized for the work they are doing to better their communities.