Established in 1995 by the Texas Legislature, TTI’s Center for Ports and Waterways (CPW) provides valuable applied research and expertise to the Texas Marine Transportation System. Over the past 30 years, CPW’s experts have helped public- and private-sector stakeholders improve the efficiency, safety, and cost-effectiveness of waterborne freight at all operational levels. Recently, TTI Senior Research Scientist Jim Kruse, who led the center for 23 years, announced his retirement from TTI. To succeed him as director, the Institute named Vince Mantero, formerly director of the Office of Ports and Waterways Planning in the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration. Mantero brings to the job more than 25 years of experience in maritime and freight policy, planning and program management. Allan sits down with the CPW’s captains, past and present, to discuss the transition, the importance of waterborne freight in the twenty-first century, and what lies ahead in the area of waterways research. | See the related story on the change in leadership