White House Highlights Jeralee Anderson as a Transportation "Champion of Change" [White House Logo] THE WHITE HOUSE Office of Communications FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 8, 2013 White House Highlights Transportation “Champions of Change” WASHINGTON, DC – On Wednesday, May 8th, the White House will honor twelve people as Transportation “Champions of Change.” This Champions event, “Transportation Technology Solutions for the 21st Century,” will focus on individuals or organizations that have provided exemplary leadership in developing or implementing transportation technology solutions to enhance performance, reduce congestion, improve safety, and facilitate communication across the transportation industry at the local, state or national level. "These Champions represent the very best in American leadership, innovation, and progress,” said Secretary LaHood. “I’m proud to recognize these transportation leaders who work every day to grow our economy and help us reach our destinations more quickly, efficiently, and safely.” The Champions of Change program was created as an opportunity for the White house to feature groups of Americans – individuals, businesses and organizations – who are doing extraordinary things to empower and inspire members of their communities. To watch this event live, visit www.whitehouse.gov/live at 10:00 am ET on May 8th. To learn more about the White House Champions of Change program and nominate a Champion, visit www.whitehouse.gov/champions. Jeralee Anderson Redmond, WA Jeralee Anderson is the Executive Director of the Greenroads Foundation and has made a commitment to sustainability. Through her passion she has worked with partners of the Foundation to develop the Greenroads Rating System-- a points-based system that certifies sustainable roadway and transportation infrastructure projects. The Greenroads Foundation also manages the premier certification process for sustainable roadway and bridge construction projects in the United States and internationally. Sue Groth Office of Traffic, Safety and Technology, Minnesota Department of Transportation St. Paul, MN The Minnesota Office of Traffic, Safety and Technology (OTST) has been selected as a Champion of Change for their work to reduce fatal and life changing crashes on Minnesota roadways, while enhancing mobility for all users. OTST is being honored for designing, testing and helping to deploy dozens of life-saving rural intersection conflict warning systems (RICWS) throughout Minnesota, while leading a national effort to do more of the same throughout rural America. These systems save lives at rural intersections that might otherwise not warrant or afford more traditional traffic control devices or geometric improvements. James Crites Dallas/Fort Worth, TX James Crites is the Executive Vice President for Operations at the Dallas Fort Worth Airport. Jim has been a key leader and collaborator in the joint FAA-aviation community effort to implement the Next Generation Air Transportation System, or NextGen. NextGen is a comprehensive overhaul of our National Airspace System (NAS) to make air travel more dependable and environmentally friendly, while ensuring flights are as safe, secure and convenient as possible. In his role at DFW, Jim has become an early adopter of core technologies such as Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast, the NextGen successor to radar; and the Airport Surface Detection Equipment–Model X, a surface surveillance system that combines with data distribution units to enable the data sharing which fuels the NextGen collaborative decision making concept. Thomas Dingus Blacksburg, VA Dr. Thomas Dingus is the Director of the Virginia Transportation Technology Institute (VTTI) and is being honored for his work in developing and testing connected vehicle and other smart transportation technologies. Under his leadership, the VTTI has been instrumental in conducting transportation safety and human factors research. Examples include the safety and usability of advanced in-vehicle devices, the development of crash avoidance technology with simulators and test-tracks, large-scale studies of driver performance and truck driver fatigue, and driver distraction and attention research. Dr. Dingus has led a team of researchers to develop a data acquisition system, providing an opportunity to gather continuous video and driving performance data in real-world driving conditions. To date, these systems have been installed in nearly 4,000 vehicles deployed across the U.S. and in several foreign nations. This method of data collection and analysis provides unprecedented information about the causes of crashes to designers and policy makers who can develop countermeasures that will lead to reduced crashes and fatalities. John R. Hillman Wilmette, IL John R. Hillman, is Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of HCB, Inc, and has been a structural engineer in the inspection, construction, and design of unique bridges for over 27 years. Mr. Hillman invented the Hybrid-Composite Beam (HCB®) as a structural technology that results in stronger, lighter, safer and more sustainable bridge structures and has spent years developing and refining the HCB®. Subsequently, ten HCB® bridges have been constructed in eight different states, with many more in various stages of planning, design and construction. The HCB® provides a revolutionary bridge technology to reduce the burden of decaying infrastructure for future generations. José Holguín-Veras Troy, NY Dr. José Holguín-Veras is the William H. Hart Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the Director of the Center for Infrastructure, Transportation, and the Environment. Dr. Holguin-Veras has led the development of an off-hour freight delivery system that combines Global Positioning System (GPS) remote sensing monitoring with GPS-enabled smart phones. This transportation technology solution has facilitated a shift in deliveries from the congested daytime hours to the off-hours of 7PM to 6AM. Since the system has been implemented, freight receivers enjoy the superior reliability of off-hour deliveries, carriers benefit from increased productivity, and daytime travelers and pedestrians enjoy reduced congestion, noise, and pollution. His influential research has led to substantial improvements in the ability to model and induce changes in the behavior of the freight industry. Akira “Kevin” Koyasu Rochelle, IL Akira “Kevin” Koyasu is the chief executive officer of Nippon Sharyo U.S.A. Inc, a builder of “Shinkansen” bullet trains. Kevin led the efforts for Nippon Sharyo U.S.A. to open its first US plant in Rochelle, IL and has created more than 300 direct jobs, and now has 5 major contracts to supply “Made-in-America” passenger rail cars to various transit authorities throughout North America such as Chicago, California, Virginia and Toronto, Canada. Under Kevin’s leadership, Nippon Sharyo has also recently launched the expansion program in Rochelle by adding new 327,000 ft2 building to produce parts and components with American steel to meet “100% Buy America” requirements. James R. McCarville Port of Pittsburgh Commission Pittsburgh, PA James R. McCarville is the Executive Director of the Port of Pittsburgh Commission (PPC), a Commission of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The PPC consists of volunteers who have donated thousands of hours to promoting the commercial use and development of the inland waterway transportation system. Under Jim’s leadership, the Port of Pittsburgh worked with students from Carnegie Mellon University to develop a computerized virtual system. This “industrial grade” internet introduces greater transparency and efficiency, improving the safety, security and scheduling for towboats, terminals, trains and trucks, and improving the quality of life for people who work the boats, often away from their families for weeks at a time. While the first leg is self-sustaining in Pittsburgh, it is scalable and we expect expandable throughout the nation’s waterways. Michael L. Pack College Park, MD Mr. Pack is the Director of the CATT Laboratory at the University of Maryland and the creative director of Regional Integrated Transportation Information System or RITIS. RITIS is an automated transportation data sharing, dissemination, and archiving system that facilitates better communication between government agencies and the public. As a career public servant, Michael strives to dramatically change the way agencies think about information sharing and the importance of better visual communication and transparency. His work is enabling more efficient use of government resources—allowing researchers and transportation professionals to dedicate more energy towards solving important transportation problems through data and user-friendly analytics tools. Ryan Rice Colorado Department of Transportation Multi Media Team Denver, CO Ryan Rice is the Director of Transportation Systems Management & Operations for the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) where he is leading efforts to optimize the performance of the existing ground transportation program, getting more out of the system without building new capacity. This includes distributing real-time traveler information to the public where CDOT has pioneered a unique Public Private Partnership to cost-effectively expand real-time traveler information to a mobile smartphone. Over the past year, CDOT has worked closely with urHub to develop a mobile application to bring real-time traveler information to over 100,000 citizen’s smartphones and tablets. CDOT Mobile App provides the most accurate, useful, and accessible traveler information related to speed, road conditions, cameras, and variable message signs on Colorado's highways. Jeff Wharton President, IMPulse NC Mount Olive, NC Jeffrey Wharton has been a transit professional for the past 33 years and has been instrumental in manufacturing overhead catenary hardware supplying electrification systems for commuter, light rail, streetcar and electric trolleybus. Through his leadership, IMPulse NC has developed the latest cutting edge technology for Commuter and Light Rail Transit that improves system reliability, reduces maintenance costs and provides greater system safety through a patent pending automated catenary safety monitoring system. This highly innovative technology solution has proven itself and now represents one of the best in American ingenuity. Josh Whiton Raleigh, NC Josh Whiton is the founder of TransLoc, a tech-company that pioneered the delivery of real-time transit information to riders and administrators. Josh’s vision led to the release of a first-of-its-kind technology that displayed, not just the location, but also the continuous movement of an entire fleet of public transit vehicles over the Internet. Since then, TransLoc technology has been deployed by forward-thinking transit agencies throughout the United States and abroad. These agencies have used TransLoc to improve a variety of transit environments large and small, from cities, universities, hospitals, airports and corporate campuses, all the way up to a flagship project with Triangle Transit, which partnered with TransLoc to unify seven different transit agencies under a single, integrated passenger information system for the region.