(L-R): Chairman of the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents Richard A. Box, Gerald Ullman, Brooke Ullman, Board of Regents Vice Chairman Phil Adams.

Gerald Ullman, Texas A&M Transportation Institute senior research engineer and manager of the work zone and dynamic message sign research program, has been presented with a Regents Fellow Service Award, which is among the most prestigious honors bestowed by The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents. The award was presented during ceremonies held at the Hagler Center on the Texas A&M campus January 30, 2013.  The award recognizes employees who have made exemplary contributions to their university or agency and to the people of Texas.

“I am both honored and humbled to be recognized by the Board and Regents and the Chancellor in this manner,” said Ullman. “I’ve been fortunate to be able to work with many outstanding colleagues over my career, and feel this award is a reflection and recognition of all their efforts and support as much anything I have done. I am very grateful to TTI and to the A&M System for the many opportunities I have been afforded.”

Ullman is a nationally recognized expert who has made significant contributions in work zone mobility and safety research for 28 years, beginning his career at TTI as a graduate student in 1984. He has served as principal investigator or co-principal investigator for more than 50 different research projects totaling more than $11 million, and has brought significant recognition to both TTI and to The Texas A&M University System.

Ullman is the ninth TTI employee to receive the Regents Fellow Service Award.

All Texas A&M University graduate students, including those currently employed by TTI, are encouraged to enter the competition.

A $1,000 stipend will be awarded the winning entry. Papers must be submitted to the center by January 25, 2013.

For additional information, please download the flyer (PDF).

Tom Williams

Tom Williams likes a challenge. It’s one of the reasons he went into his current field.

“I’ve been studying and working in transportation planning since graduate school, with a focus on travel demand modeling and travel forecasting. These areas are essential to making good transportation decisions. I wanted — and still want — to make forecasts better.”

Based out of Austin and the new head of TTI’s Travel Forecasting Program, Williams is looking forward to working on projects that directly impact the future quality of our transportation system. From data analysis to research techniques to applications of all aspects of travel forecasting — all are in his wheelhouse. And that complexity is where the challenge comes in.

“The questions are getting harder to answer, so it’s an exciting time to be doing travel forecasting,” he says. “Adding to the complexity is the need to communicate effectively about my research findings. Getting the word out in a way others can understand is key to making that information useful.”

Making research findings more accessible to planners, engineers, decision makers and the public is a primary goal for Williams. And spending half his childhood in Guadalajara, Mexico, and attending the American School there no doubt helped him appreciate the value of a well-planned transportation system.

“We could derive the best mathematical solution to a forecasting problem, but it’s only useful if it becomes part of the ‘people-ware,’” Williams observes.

No doubt contributing to his sensitivity toward audiences is his weekly gig as an amateur keyboard player in a local band. If you think about it, he recreates the same process of translating technical material—in this case, music—via artistic expression. “It’s a great feeling when all five guys in the band create and perform a song that moves people,” notes Williams.

If hearing “Tom Williams” and “transportation planning” in the same sentence sounds familiar to you, there’s a good reason for that. This isn’t his first stint with TTI.

“I was in the Transportation Planning Program under George Dresser from 1991 to 1998,” he says. “It’s great to be back!”

Robert Wunderlich

Robert Wunderlich has been named the acting director for the Center for Transportation Safety at the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI), a member of the Texas A&M University System. Wunderlich, formerly served as the City of Garland’s senior managing director for transportation, streets, engineering and stormwater, also holds the title of research engineer since he assumed his new duties on July 9.

Wunderlich is responsible for leading the various research programs for the center, which was established by the Texas Legislature in 2001. He is also responsible for promoting the center’s work to all of its internal and external stakeholder groups.

“We are extremely pleased that Robert is joining TTI,” says Bill Stockton, executive associate agency director. “His outstanding reputation and real-world experiences make him an ideal addition to our strong team. We are enthusiastic about the unique attributes that Robert brings to the Institute and look forward to a long and valuable relationship with him.”

Wunderlich served on the City of Garland staff for 17 years, most recently managing the four departments that plan, design, construct and maintain the city’s street and drainage infrastructure. He is also a member of the City Manager’s Executive Management Team, where he helps set policies, priorities and budgets.

He has held positions at the City of Austin, the City of Arlington, and Barton-Aschman Associates, Inc., an engineering consulting firm in Dallas. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering from the University of Tennessee. He is a past international president of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) and was named the Transportation Engineer of the Year by the Texas District of ITE in 2007.

Wunderlich’s appointment brings him full circle in his career, returning to TTI where he worked as an engineering research associate from 1982 until 1984. He has maintained his connection with TTI since that time in a variety of ways, most recently by helping bring TTI’s Teens in the Driver Seat Program to all the high schools in Garland in 2006.

“I feel that this new position is a unique opportunity to use my experience and skills to make a difference in the lives of Texans, Americans and others across the globe,” Wunderlich says, “by helping to provide safer roadways and safer vehicle occupants and by understanding and developing programs for high-risk groups.”

John Sedlak.

John Sedlak, manager of rail passenger research at TTI, has just finished his first six months with the Institute. Often at the half-year mark, an organization evaluates the employee to make sure “the fit is right.” Though TTI no longer has this formal assessment step, if the process were reversed, John says, he’d give TTI highest marks.

“TTI is the best transportation research organization in the country, with the finest professionals working for it,” he states unequivocally. “I’m extremely proud — and consider myself very fortunate — to be working here.”

John is leading TTI’s efforts to expand research with TxDOT in high-speed rail (HSR). He believes that high-speed rail should be fully explored as one of the options for the future mobility of Texas. After all, improved mobility means an improved quality of life for Texans. Right now he’s concentrating on assembling TTI’s HSR team and forging a partnership with TxDOT to improve HSR research opportunities.

“I’ve been involved with public transportation throughout my career, and that’s allowed me unique insight into the kind of decision making that can affect a city’s future for decades to come. I’ve been fortunate to have a career where I’ve studied mobility, operational, and program management issues from a variety of perspectives.”

Experience with that complexity will serve John well as he leads TTI’s foray into HSR research, which itself touches so many interdisciplinary and multimodal areas. And the broad network of colleagues he’s worked with across those areas have taught him how leveraging individual strengths across teams can often yield a whole greater than the sum of its parts. That’s why he values effective teamwork so highly, he says.

Quality of life outside the office is important to John too. “My wife Cathy and I love travelling to new destinations and exploring cities, countries and cultures. And I enjoy spending time with our grandchildren immensely.”

When you work on issues as focused on the future and big-picture oriented as John does, downtime and play are absolutely necessary to keeping things in perspective. Speaking of which, John has some very specific ways he likes to play.

“I try hard to be a better golfer,” he says, laughing a bit at the claim. “I’m an avid gardener and landscaper, and I’m what you might call a weather geek. I have a small weather station where I monitor temps, air pressure, humidity, wind speed and rainfall. I enjoy the complexity of our weather particularly here in Texas.”

Knowing how to tell which way the wind blows will no doubt serve John well in his new role as TTI’s HSR initiative leader.

Joe Dunn

Assistant Chief Financial Officer Joe Dunn likes putting complex puzzles together, especially financial ones. But at the end of the day, he notes, the puzzle pieces have to fit together to make a coherent whole.

“I went into this line of work primarily because of the challenge,” Joe says. “It involves taking complex data and equating it to a bigger picture that tells a story. You have to interpret the details into something meaningful for others with different responsibilities, or who don’t happen to like numbers as much as you do.”

While fiscal duties can sometimes include a solitary – even isolating — set of tasks, Joe says he places a very high value on effective communication. He says that’s critical to take care of your customers’ needs.

“People can call me about anything related to the TTI Business Office, and if I can’t answer the question, I’ll get them to someone who can,” he says. “One of my primary goals is to deliver 360-degree customer service at all times. Building effective relationships and delivering excellent customer service can’t be ignored while trying to get the numbers to add up right.”

That people-friendly attitude will come in handy moving forward, since Joe is currently taking over Anna Jo Mitchell’s duties and responsibilities after her retirement. With Anna Jo’s departure, Joe has assumed new responsibilities and will put his own touch on a job that Anna Jo made her own for many years.

“I’m always available to help you out, whether the issue is big or small,” he says. “Send me an email or pick up the phone when the need arises; we can always work toward a solution together.”

Outside of work, Joe enjoys spending time with his three-year-old daughter, Aspen. Other hobbies include scuba diving, snow skiing and, most recently, learning to play acoustic guitar. He says that all three are fun, challenging and help him to maintain balance.