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.”