Robert Benz, PE

Research Engineer

Education

• M.S., Civil Engineering, Texas A&M University, 1993
• B.S., Civil Engineering, Texas A&M University, 1991

Short Biography

Mr. Benz is a Research Engineer at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute and has been with the institute since 1991. He received a B.S. and a M.S. degree in Civil Engineering from Texas A&M University. He has held academic positions as an Adjunct Professor at Texas Southern University (1999) and at Prairie View A&M University (1999-2004). His professional interests are High Occupancy Vehicle / High Occupancy Toll (HOV/HOT) evaluations, transportation data management and analysis, safety, planning, and bicycle and pedestrian activities.

He is currently a research supervisor involved with the acquisition and management of transportation data for congestion management, long-range planning, and technical assistance for the planning department of the Houston District of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). He is also leading a TxDOT research study to determine the most efficient use of Flexible Pylons for roadway delineation. Mr. Benz is the principal investigator on several tasks with the Houston-Galveston Area Council, the region's Metropolitan Planning Organization, including revising and implementing the congestion management process; revising the ITS plan and updating the regional architecture; developing a web based crash data distribution and analysis system; developing and delivering a safety course for local government elected officials and policy makers; and a teen driver awareness program known as "Teens in the Driver Seat."

Other research projects have included performance measurement and monitoring, traffic operations, High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) operations, and local safety studies, as well as the development of university level course for the design of bicycle and pedestrian activities, pavement marking retroreflectivity, Roadway Weather Information Systems (RWIS), and Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) traffic data technology, planning, architecture, and applications.

Mr. Benz is a member of the Institute of Transportation Engineers, Texas Section of the Institute of Transportation Engineers, and Chi Epsilon National Civil Engineering Honor Society. Mr. Benz is a Registered Professional Engineer in the State of Texas.