Gene Hawkins, research engineer with the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI), has been honored with the John “Jake” Landen Memorial Highway Safety Award in recognition of his “significant and lasting contributions to the safety of our nation’s highways.” The award is presented annually by the Traffic Safety Industry Division of the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA).
“This award took me completely by surprise,” Hawkins says. “I have the utmost respect for the people who have received this award in the past. Many worked behind the scenes, but ARTBA made sure they were recognized for their work. I am very honored to be a part of that group.”
Hawkins, a professor in Texas A&M University’s Department of Civil Engineering, conducts research for TTI related to improving traffic control devices, especially signs, markings and signals. He previously served TTI as a division head and program manager for the Institute’s Operation and Design Division. His interest in that part of our roadway system began as a boy growing up with a traffic engineer for a father.
Hawkins’s vast 35-year career in transportation engineering has included membership in numerous professional and technical organizations. Last year he was elected chairman of the National Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices.