Gary B. Thomas, Ph.D., P.E.

Thomas, Gary

Research Engineer

Center for Professional Development - Gilchrist, Room 112
Texas A&M Transportation Institute
The Texas A&M University System
3135 TAMU
College Station, TX 77843-3135
ph. (979) 458-3263 Ext. 83263 · fax (979) 845-6001
g-thomas@tamu.edu

Short Biography

Dr. Thomas is a research engineer in the Transportation Operations Group. He has been with the Texas A&M Transportation Institute since June 2001. Dr. Thomas has a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from the University of Minnesota and a master's and doctoral degree in civil engineering from Arizona State University.

Prior to coming to TTI, Dr. Thomas was a state DOT intern, a private consultant at two firms, a city traffic engineer, and a faculty member. It is this diverse background in traffic and transportation engineering that gives him a unique perspective on the issues that face the transportation workforce of today. His primary focus during these years was traffic operations, traffic signal design, neighborhood traffic issues, GIS applications, transportation modeling, and traffic impacts.

Dr. Thomas' primary interests lie in transportation engineering education, distance learning, career guidance, traffic operations, and transportation safety. He is a certified instructor for the National Highway Institute and teaches workshops and seminars throughout the country on such diverse topics as: intersection safety, freeway management and operations, traffic signal design and operations, simulation, and communication technologies. In addition to teaching workshops, he also has developed numerous short courses and is an adjunct professor at Texas A&M University.

Dr. Thomas is currently a mobility coordinator for the I-35 reconstruction project, a massive expansion of highway through Central Texas. Previously he served as the project manager for the outreach activites for FHWA's Travel Model Improvement Program (TMIP) and he is and experienced web site designer having developed or assisted in the development of several transportation-related web sites.

Dr. Thomas is a registered professional engineer in Arizona and Texas, a fellow of the Institute of Transportation Engineers, and a member of the Transportation Research Board's committee on education and training.

Education

  • Ph.D., Civil Engineering, Arizona State University, 1998.
  • M.S., Civil Engineering, Arizona State University, 1993.
  • B.S.C.E., Civil Engineering, University of Minnesota, 1989.

Experience

  • Research Engineer, Center for Professional Development, Texas A&M Transportation Institute, June 2001 - Present.
  • Associate Research Engineer, Center for Professional Development, Texas Transportation Institute, June 2001 - August 2007.
  • Center Director, Center for Professional Development, Texas Transportation Institute, June 2001 - June 2001.
  • Assistant Professor, Department of Civil and Construction Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, December 1999 - May 2001.
  • Traffic Engineer, Town of Gilbert, Gilbert, Arizona, May 1996 - November 1999.
  • Project Engineer, Lee Engineering, Phoenix, Arizona, January 1992 - May 1996.
  • Research Assistant, Center for Advanced Transportation Systems Research, Arizona State University, August 1990 - December 1992.
  • Project Engineer, Transportation Division, Short-Elliot-Hendrickson, St. Paul, Minnesota, August 1989 - July 1990.
  • Intern, Pavement Management Section, Minnesota Department of Transportation, St. Paul, Minnesota, April 1987 - June 1989.

Professional Registration

Professional Engineer in Texas, Registration No. 88914, 2001.

Professional Engineer in Arizona.

Certified National Highway Institute Instructor.

Affiliations

  • Member, Transportation Research Board, Task Force on Road Safety Workforce Development, 2011 - Present.
  • International Director, Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), Texas District, 2009 - 2011.
  • Advisory Board, University Transportation Center for Mobility, 2007 - Present.
  • Member, Transportation Research Board (TRB), Transportation Education and Training (ABG20), 2005 - Present.
  • Chair, Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), Education Council, 2002 - 2004.
  • Member, Institute of Transportation Engineers, Texas District (TexITE), Brazos Valley Section, July 2001 - Present.
  • Executive Board, Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), Missouri Valley Section, 2000 - 2001.
  • Executive Committee, Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), Education Council, 2000 - Present.
  • Member, American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), 2000 - 2004.
  • Member, American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Career Guidance Committee, 2000 - 2003.
  • Chair, Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), District 6, Career Guidance Committee, 1998 - 1999.
  • Member, Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), Education Council, 1998 - Present.
  • Executive Board, Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), Arizona Section, 1996 - 1999.
  • Committee Member, Transportation Research Board (TRB), User Information Systems (AND20), 1992 - Present.
  • Member, Chi Epsilon - The National Civil Engineering Honor Society, National Civil Engineering Honor Society, 1991 - Present.
  • Member, American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), 1989 - 2004.
  • Member, Tau Beta Pi, National Engineering Honor Society, 1988 - Present.

Honors & Awards

Instructor of Excellence, National Highway Institute, 2011.

Instructor of Excellence, National Highway Institute, 2010.

Instructor of Excellence, National Highway Institute, 2009.

Wayne T. VanWagonner Award, ITE-District 6, 1999.

Eno Fellow, Eno Center for Transportation Leadership Development, 1996.

Member of the Quarter, ITE Arizona Section, 1993.

Student Paper Award, ITE-District 6, 1991.

Academic Courses Taught

Introduction to Transportation Engineering. Texas A & M University, Spring 2008, Spring 2006.

Graduate Transportation Seminar. Iowa State University, Spring 2001, Spring 2000.

Planning and Design of Airports. Iowa State University, Spring 2001.

Traffic Engineering. Iowa State University, Fall 2000.

Short Courses Taught

Low Cost Safety Improvements. National Highway Institute. Hartford, CT, February 22, 2011 - February 22, 2011.

Designing and Operating Intersections for Safety. ITE/FHWA. Boise, ID, December 13, 2010 - December 15, 2010. Spooner, WI, February 9, 2010 - February 11, 2010. Houston, TX, February 23, 2010 - February 25, 2010. Sacramento, CA, September 1, 2009 - September 3, 2009. Nashville, TN, June 22, 2009 - June 24, 2009. Houston, TX, December 4, 2007 - December 6, 2007. Milwaukee, WI, August 6, 2006 - August 6, 2006. Mesquite, TX, August 29, 2006 - August 31, 2006. Denver, CO, January 10, 2006 - January 12, 2006. Orlando, FL, July 31, 2004 - July 31, 2004. Olympia Fields, IL, May 25, 2004 - May 27, 2004. Baltimore, MD, May 4, 2004 - May 6, 2004.

Traffic Signal Design and Operation. National Highway Institute. Buffalo, NY, December 8, 2010 - December 9, 2010. Baton Rouge, LA, September 14, 2010 - September 15, 2010. Jefferson City, MO, March 30, 2010 - March 31, 2010. Atlanta, GA, February 28, 2008 - February 29, 2008. Salt Lake, UT, January 9, 2007 - January 10, 2007. Montgomery, AL, October 12, 2005 - October 13, 2005.

Instructor Development Course. National Highway Institute. Chicago, IL, September 26, 2010 - September 30, 2010.

Basics of Wireline Communications. TxDOT. Dallas, TX, November 14, 2007 - November 14, 2007. Austin, TX, June 7, 2007 - June 7, 2007. Tyler, TX, April 11, 2007 - April 11, 2007. Corpus Christi, TX, March 7, 2007 - March 7, 2007. Houston, TX, February 13, 2007 - February 13, 2007. Amarillo, TX, February 27, 2007 - February 27, 2007. College Station, TX, November 14, 2006 - November 14, 2006. Austin, TX, September 28, 2006 - September 28, 2006.

Intersection Safety Workshop. National Highway Institute. San Diego, CA, October 3, 2007 - October 3, 2007. San Bernardino, CA, October 2, 2007 - October 2, 2007. Sacramento, CA, May 16, 2007 - May 16, 2007. Oakland, CA, May 17, 2007 - May 17, 2007. Helena, MT, April 18, 2007 - April 18, 2007.

Beginning CORSIM. Texas Department of Transportation. Austin, TX, August 28, 2007 - August 29, 2007. El Paso, TX, April 19, 2005 - April 21, 2005. Austin, TX, August 18, 2004 - August 20, 2004. Fort Worth, TX, July 6, 2004 - July 8, 2004.

Freeway Management and Operations. FHWA. Minneapolis, MN, February 6, 2007 - February 7, 2007. Ames, IA, September 19, 2006 - September 21, 2006.

ITS Standards Overview. ITE. Austin, TX, November 7, 2006 - November 7, 2006. Jacksonville, FL, March 16, 2006 - March 16, 2006. Atlanta, GA, November 17, 2004 - November 17, 2004. Chicago, IL, July 19, 2004 - July 19, 2004. Scottsdale, AZ, May 19, 2004 - May 19, 2004. Dallas, TX, April 15, 2004 - April 15, 2004. Houston, TX, November 4, 2003 - November 4, 2003. Milwaukee, WI, July 8, 2003 - July 8, 2003. Jackson, MS, May 5, 2003 - May 5, 2003. Denver, CO, July 2002 - July 2002. Raleigh, NC, June 2002 - June 2002. Madison, WI, April 2002 - April 2002.

Fundamentals of Traffic Signal Timing. ITE. San Antonio, TX, March 19, 2006 - March 19, 2006.

Computerized Traffic Signal Systems. National Highway Institute. Phoenix, AZ, September 24, 2002 - September 26, 2002. Phoenix, AZ, February 26, 2002 - February 28, 2002.

ITS Standards for Dynamic Message Signs. ITE. Bonner Springs, KS, April 2002 - April 2002.

Selected Publications

G.B. Thomas. Fundamentals of Video Over IP and Systems Engineering: Workshop Materials. 5-5942-01-P1. Texas Transportation Institute, Houston, TX. December 2011.

G.B. Thomas. Applying the Systems Engineering Approach to Video Over IP Projects: Workshop. 5-5942-01-1. Texas Transportation Institute, College Station, TX. December 2011.

R.E. Brydia, B.E. Brackin, R.F. De Roche, J.D. Johnson, G.B. Thomas. Video over IP Design Guidebook. 0-5942-P1. Texas Transportation Institute, College Station, TX. December 2009.

R.E. Brydia, B.E. Brackin, R.F. De Roche, J.D. Johnson, G.B. Thomas. Development of a Video over IP Guidebook. 0-5942-1. Texas Transportation Institute, College Station, TX. September 2009.

R.E. Brydia, B.E. Brackin, R.F. De Roche, J.D. Johnson, G.B. Thomas. Comprehensive Guide to the Use of IP-Based Video for Traffic Operations. PSR. 0-5942-S. Texas Transportation Institute, College Station, TX. May 2009.