100th Transportation Research Board Conference Moves Online
A comprehensive meeting for transportation officials representing all modes is having its 100th annual meeting in a virtual format this month.
The Transportation Research Board’s committee meetings are taking place January 5-8 and January 11-15. Sessions and exhibits will be held January 21-22 and January 25-29.
Sessions focusing on freight and marine transportation will take place mainly January 21-29 and include such issues as International Trade and Transport: Resilience of Supply Chains to Political, Natural and Health Related Hazards; Food Deliveries in Times of Uncertainty; Freight Planning and Operational Logistics for the New Normal; Atypical Disruptions Reshaping Marine Transportation; Transformative Technologies: Challenges and Opportunities; Port Community Systems and Beyond; Trending Research In Freight Transportation Planning and Logistics; and sessions on current research for ports and channels, inland water transportation, marine environment, marine safety and human factors, ferry transportation, agriculture and food transportation, hazardous materials transportation and intermodal freight transportation.
Part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, the Transportation Research Board conference is the world’s largest gathering of transportation research professionals, organizers said. This year’s theme is “Launching A New Century of Mobility and Quality of Life.” More than 350 sessions and workshops will take place, including more than 40 on how COVID-19 has impacted transportation and how transportation professionals and researchers are responding.
The Chair’s Plenary Session, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on January 27, will feature keynote speaker Marcia McNutt, president of the National Academy of Sciences. McNutt will discuss the National Academies’ strategic plan and important future issues in science related to transportation in addition to the importance of envisioning a future of sustainable transportation accessible to everyone.
The Thomas B. Deen Distinguished Lecture will be 5:30 to 6:45 p.m. Eastern Standard Time Monday, January 25. Titled “Our Work Is Never Done: Examining Equity Impacts in Public Transportation.” It will be given by Dorval R. Carter Jr., president of the Chicago Transit Authority, the nation’s second largest transit agency. Former U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx will participate in a post-lecture discussion.
More information is available at www.trb.org/AnnualMeeting/AnnualMeeting.aspx. Attendees may also download the free annual meeting app to access information on the schedule of events, program participants, exhibitors and more. To download, search for “TRB 2021” in the App Store or Google Play. To follow online conversations about the annual meeting, use the hashtag #TRBAM and follow TRB on Twitter @NASEMTRB.
