TTI Experts Receive Recognitions at 2022 TRB Annual Meeting

Approximately 60 Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) researchers and staff participated in the Transportation Research Board (TRB) 101st Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., Jan. 9–13. Held in person for the first time since 2020, about 6,000 participants attended more than 400 workshops, lectern sessions, and poster sessions, as well as nearly 400 committee meetings, during the week.

TTI’s annual TRB reception, co-sponsored by the Texas A&M University Zachry Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, was well attended, and traffic was steady at TTI’s exhibit in the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.

Amy Epps Martin, TTI senior research engineer; Edith Arámbula Mercado, TTI Recyclable Materials program manager and research engineer; and Fawaz M. Kaseer, pavement design engineer at the Michigan Department of Transportation, authored the paper Relationship between Rheological Indices and Cracking Performance of Virgin Recycled and Rejuvenated Asphalt Binders and Mixtures. The paper won the TRB K. B. Woods Paper Award, which is “given annually for the outstanding paper published in the field of design and construction of transportation facilities,” according to TRB.

Epps Martin shares, “At the 30th TRB Annual Meeting I’ve attended, it’s a great honor for our research to be recognized and selected from some 500 papers initially submitted to the Transportation Infrastructure Group — a group that, in turn, represents 56 technical committees.”

Juan Carlos Villa, TTI Mexico City Office division head and research scientist, chairs the TRB International Trade and Transportation (AT020) Standing Committee. At the 2022 TRB Annual Meeting, the AT020 committee received the 2022 Blue Ribbon Committee Award in Diversity: Increasing the Diversity of Committee Membership. Part of TRB’s Technical Activities Council (TAC), the committee evaluates “best practices in attracting and retaining members and friends from historically underrepresented groups,” according to TRB.

“I’m honored that the committee received this award for its diversity efforts,” Villa says. “Since I became chair of the International Trade and Transportation Committee, I’ve been working toward creating a more diverse membership. And that has only been possible by teamwork with a great group of diverse members and friends of the AT020 committee.”

TTI Mobility Division Head and Senior Research Engineer Bill Eisele is the chair of the TRB Urban Freight Transportation (AT025) Standing Committee within TRB’s TAC. The AT025 committee accepted the 2022 Blue Ribbon Committee Award in Renewal: Attracting and Preparing the Next Generation of Professionals and Scholars in TRB. The committee’s objective is to help up-and-coming leaders gain experience “by providing active involvement in critical committee activities,” according to TRB.

“I’m humbled our committee efforts to attract and engage the next generation of TRB leaders have been recognized,” reflects Eisele. “During these uncertain times, urban freight transportation is more critical than ever, and I’m pleased our committee has provided a supportive learning environment and mentoring and networking opportunities for leadership roles in this important field.”