News Archives

It is a pretty safe bet to say that TTI Researcher Carlos Chang-Albitres owes much of his career to the International Road Federation (IRF). Since 1948, the IRF provided graduate school scholarships to 1,150 transportation students from around the globe. In 1997, Chang-Albitres was a private sector employee in his home country of Peru, working […]

When Transportation Engineer Keith Knapp accepted a job at TTI a couple of months ago, he brought with him the multi-state Deer-Vehicle Crash Information Clearinghouse (DVCIC) and its website. Knapp has been director of the Clearinghouse since its inception and expects to continue to lead the effort through the Deer-Vehicle Crash Information and Research Center […]

Dennis L. Christiansen was formally appointed director of the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) during a special telephonic meeting of The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents Wednesday, November 1. Regents named Christiansen sole finalist for the position last month. Wednesday’s confirmation by the Board completes the appointment process. “The leadership provided by former directors […]

In one of his last public appearances as Director of TTI, Herb Richardson gives a gift to director finalist Dennis Christiansen. Richardson is known for his fondness of plaid shirts and suggested it should help Christiansen in his new position. The gift giving occurred during Richardson’s retirement BBQ October 27.

A Transportation Hall of Honor ceremony was recently held for Cyrus R. Smith. Pictured (L-R) are Gerard Arpey, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of American Airlines; Dennis Christiansen, Deputy Director of TTI; and Douglas Smith, son of C.R. Smith standing in front of a restored American Airlines DC-3 located in the C.R. Smith museum.

Friends and colleagues gathered at the George Bush Library Center on Wednesday to honor the career of TTI Director Herb Richardson. Dr. G. Kemble Bennett, Vice Chancellor and Dean of Engineering and host of the event, announced that over $200,000 had been raised to endow the Herbert H. Richardson Faculty Fellowship in the College of […]

Outgoing TTI Director Herb Richardson passes a ceremonial gavel to Dennis Christiansen, recently named by the Texas A&M System board of regents as sole finalist to be the Institute’s next director. The brief exchange occurred during opening ceremonies of the 80th Annual Short Course, now underway on the Texas A&M University campus in College Station.

Only weeks before his retirement, Director Herb Richardson has been notified that he is the recipient of the 2006 Roy W. Crum Distinguished Service Award’one of the Transportation Research Board’s (TRB) most prestigious honors. The Crum Award recognizes outstanding achievement in transportation research and will be presented at the Chairman’s Luncheon at the TRB Annual […]

The 80th Annual Short Course informally kicked off Sunday with the Gallaway Invitational Golf Tournament held at Briarcrest Country Club in Bryan. Pictured, clockwise from left: TTI veteran and tournament namesake Bob Gallaway takes a putt; players found the driving range popular; TTI volunteers help with tournament registration.

The Board of Regents of the Texas A&M University System has unanimously selected Dr. Dennis L. Christiansen as the sole finalist for the position of director of the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI). When appointed, Christiansen, the current deputy director of TTI, will succeed Dr. Herbert H. Richardson, who is retiring after 22 years of service […]

TTI’s Center for Transportation Safety (CTS) has been awarded two separate contracts totaling approximately $260,000 to address alcohol-impaired motorcycle riding and to improve motorcycle safety and increase motorcycle awareness. In the first contract, awarded by the U.S. Department of Transportation National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the CTS, in collaboration with the University of North […]

Gordon Bethune, former Chairman and CEO of Continental Airlines, will be inducted into the Texas Transportation Hall of Honor Sept.14. The induction ceremony will be in the Founders Lounge at the Houston Hobby Center for the Performing Arts in Houston, from 6:30-8:00 p.m. Speakers at the ceremony will include Houston Mayor Bill White, Continental Airlines […]

For the first time in almost a decade, TTI’s internet site has been completely revamped and is available to the public starting Sept 4. “This website represents months of full-time work from dozens of people who have brought our organization into the 21st century,” says TTI’s Chief Information Officer and Internet Project Manager Kassandra Agee-Letton. […]

The number of candidates who have reached the interview stage for the position of TTI Director now includes at least one additional candidate. Hani Mahmassani, the founding Director of the Maryland Transportation Initiative at the University of Maryland, is scheduled for interviews in College Station on August 29-30. Dr. Mahmassani received his PhD in Transportation […]

The Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) has been named lead agency for the Southwest Region University Transportation Center (SWUTC), overseeing an annual $2 million dollar grant for the next four years. The United States Department of Transportation (US DOT) made the announcement recently following a competitive process. The grant money was allocated by congress in last […]

The two-day, 2006 Texas Ports and Waterways Conference sponsored by TTI wrapped up July 28 in Beaumont with more than 90 professionals in attendance. The conference focused on providing practical information for port authorities, engineers, consultants, government officials and others who deal with the development and management of port facilities in Texas. “The feedback I […]

Do alternative fuels really help the environment? Are they safer for our kids? The Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) is hoping to find the answers by using its state-of-the art, portable, emission testing equipment on Brazos Valley school busses. The testing is being performed at TTI’s test track at the Riverside Campus. The tests will compare […]

AUSTIN – Thomas L. Johnson, Sr., Executive Vice President of the Associated General Contractors (AGC) of Texas, will be the 21st person inducted into the Texas Transportation Hall of Honor. Transportation officials with honor Johnson on Wednesday, June 7, during a 10:30 a.m. ceremony at the Dewitt C. Greer Building, located at 125 East 11th […]

When Charlot Finnigan came to TTI’s Child Safety Seat “check-up” event Dec.13, she had no idea it would become perhaps one of the most important decisions of her life. On Jan. 15, as Charlot and her husband were driving south on Texas Avenue, a car pulled out from a parking lot, causing a collision that […]

EL PASO – The Texas Transportation Institute, the nation’s largest transportation research agency of its kind, has established an El Paso research center with new state funding secured by State Senator Eliot Shapleigh. The Institute opened in 1950 and works to create technologies and solve problems in all modes of transportation – highway, rail, air, […]