Bradley Trefz

TTI Associate Research Scientist

Education

• MIA, International Affairs, Texas A & M University, 2017
• M.A., History, Sam Houston State University, 2015
• B.A., History, Sam Houston State University, 2011

Short Biography

Bradley Trefz is an associate research scientist in the Multimodal Freight Program at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute. The core of his research and expertise is where first responders and emergency management intersect with transportation. That work includes hazardous materials transportation safety, transportation incident management and response, transportation system resilience to natural and human-caused disasters, disaster preparedness, and autonomous and electric vehicle incident response. His research includes work for the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Rail Division, leading a team of junior researchers focused on highway-rail grade crossing prioritization and safety, as well as the development of a Texas rail bridge inventory. Additionally, he works on issues related to freight planning for oversize and overweight vehicles affecting system resilience and special overweight permitting during emergencies. This team developed a unique database containing information related to transportation and public safety that TTI researchers analyze to inform TxDOT and Texas Division of Emergency Management projects and respond to critical inquiries from other state agencies. 

Mr. Trefz supports Local Emergency Planning Committees and emergency management in Texas through projects funded by the PHMSA Hazardous Materials Emergency Planning grant program conducting hazardous materials commodity flow studies and local emergency planning reviews, among other projects. He was the lead author of the Texas Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) Guide (2019) and the Texas Hazardous Materials and Train Derailment Emergency Planning Guide for School Districts and Community Colleges (2022). He recently led a project for TxDOT developing a first-of-its-kind Texas First Responder Guide for Interactions with Automated Vehicles. He also conducted studies of state commercial motor vehicle accident reporting systems and the Model Minimum Uniform Crash Criteria (MMUCC). Mr. Trefz currently serves on the Transportation Research Board’s Standing Committee on Transportation for National Defense.

Before joining TTI, Mr. Trefz supported a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosives (CBRNe) counter‐proliferation effort in Washington, DC as a contracted advisor, trainer, and maintainer. He also supported several projects for the Department of Defense (DoD) Joint Program Executive Office - Chemical and Biological Defense (JPEO-CBD). He left the Army in 2004 after 12 years of service to join the Iraq Survey Group (ISG) in Iraq, where he conducted missions against former regime and insurgent CBRNe activities. Prior to that, in the Army, he served in the 6th Civil Support Team‐Weapons of Mass Destruction (Texas) as a founding member from 2000 to 2004. He holds a Master of Arts in International Affairs from the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University and a Master of Arts in History from Sam Houston State University and he was recently accepted to the Doctor of Public Health program at Texas A&M, beginning in the Fall of 2025.