ABG10

TRB

COR is a committee of the Transportaiton Research Board

About COR

COR serves to increase the quality and effectiveness of transportation research Read More>>

Check out Seven Keys

Seven Keys to Building a Robust Research Program

TRB Conduct of Research Committee Newsletter

Winter 2006 — Sixth Issue

As always, we are interested in expanding this newsletter to include items of interest to researchers, research administrators, and others. Submit ideas and articles to Jason Bittner at bittner@engr.wisc.edu. If you prefer not to receive this newsletter, please email me.

As an organizational tool, here is how this newsletter is divided:

From the Chair

Happy New Year!

Welcome to 2006 — a year that promises to be an exciting and productive one for the Conduct of Research Committee. As we move forward with implementing our Strategic Plan, a theme has emerged from several of the teams working on the various strategic goals. This theme encompasses access to information through the Conduct of Research website — a topic that received substantial discussion at the mid-year meeting. It became clear that our committee's vision includes a much-enhanced website, one that serves as the "go-to" site for information relating to the conduct of research. It is intended that the COR website become a valuable tool to all those involved in the conduct of research from the public, private, and academic sectors.

A number of the strategic goal teams have identified initiatives relating to the website. The specific initiatives for each team, along with notes from the full group discussion about the website, are now available in the minutes from the 2005 Conduct of Research Midyear Meeting, posted on our website at http://www.mrutc.org/COR/. Specifically, the teams have requested that the website 1) contain information on who we are and how to get involved, 2) provide updates on committee activities and progress on strategic plan initiatives, 3) feature the 7 Keys to a Robust Research Program, 4) maintain historical resources, such as annual meeting presentations, 5) provide a calendar for state, regional, and national research-related activities, and 6) maintain links to related sites for easy access to additional information.

We have accomplished an important first step toward our vision. We have a new logo for the committee that you'll see at the top of this newsletter. I want to thank Dena Gray-Fisher and Lynn Purcell of Iowa DOT for creating our new look. The shooting star is certainly going to help guide us toward the future. Of course, fully achieving the vision for our website will require a lot more time and effort, but the outcome will be very valuable. I anticipate that significant progress will be made during January to finish our new design and to add much of the enhanced content to the site. I am looking forward to working with each of the goal teams in the coming year to further enhance the website and to implement additional features that meet our needs.

And a special thank you to Jason Bittner for his leadership on this initiative. We are now on the verge of taking a major step toward becoming the "go-to" site for information relating to the conduct of research, due largely to his ongoing support of this effort.

I wish you a happy and healthy year in 2006 and I look forward to seeing many of you at the annual meeting in a few weeks.

Committee Activities

We have a Logo!!!

You'll see a new logo on the website and on this newsletter for the Committee. Special thanks to the Committee Member Dena Gray-Fisher and the folks at the Iowa Department of Transportation for putting this together.

Annual Meeting Committee Meeting Scheduled

The Conduct of Research Committee Meeting will be held at the 85th TRB Annual Meeting in Washington D.C. on January 24. The meeting will be held in the Hilton Washington Hotel, Lincoln South, from 8:00am until noon. An agenda will be emailed and posted on the Committee Website prior to the Meeting.

Annual Meeting to feature Research Collaboration Workshop

The Conduct of Research Committee is sponsoring a workshop on Research Collaboration at the TRB Annual Meeting. The workshop will be Thursday, January 26th from 8 am to noon. This workshop will provide information on the principles and characteristics of research collaboration and lessons learned from recent efforts by transportation agencies. It will also provide information and tools in to help research organizations. It will end with a facilitated discussion on transportation research collaboration and recommendations for improving partnerships. The Workshop will feature Donna Bialozor, Administrative Coordinator with technology transfer branch of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), Steve Andrle of the Center for Transportation Research and Education, Eric Peterson, Deputy Director, Research Innovation and Technology Administration, USDOT and Joe Sussman of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Special recognition to Committee Member Leni Oman for organizing this event.

Conduct of Research Committee Sessions at Annual Meeting

The Conduct of Research Committee is sponsoring several sessions at the Annual Meeting. These are:

Session 224: Monday, January 23, 2006, 8:00 AM - 9:45 AM, Improving the Conduct of Research Through Peer Review and Peer Exchanges
with Committee Member Barbara Thomas Harder, B T Harder Inc., presiding. This session is cosponsored with the Committee on Technology Transfer.
and will explore different approaches to peer review and peer exchange and the benefits of these approaches. The session features: Lawrence H Klepner, Delaware Department of Transportation, Nina McLawhorn, Wisconsin Department of Transportation, Jeff Dowd of the U.S. Department of Energy, Craig Robinson of the National Science Foundation, Donna McEnrue, Federal Highway Administration, and Leni Oman of Washington State Department of Transportation. The session will be in the Hilton Hemisphere room.

Session 271: Monday, January 23, 2006, 10:15 AM - 12:00 PM, Accountability and Performance Measures: Economic Keys to Building a Robust Research Program with Committee Member Gary A. Frederick, New York State Department of Transportation, presiding. This session continues the visibility and encourages the use of the Seven Keys to Building a Robust Research Program, specifically to highlight the basic key, trust, within the agency and among participants and the key root in economics. The session will feature Barbara Thomas Harder, B T Harder Inc. providing an overview of the concepts from the Seven Keys, Paul Krugler of Texas A&M University System presenting on the Performance Measurement Tool Box and Reporting System for Research Programs and Projects (NCHRP Project 20-63), Lydia E. Mercado of RITA and Annalynn Lacombe of the Volpe Center discussing the U.S. Department of Transportation Research Program Performance: Planning and Accountability, and Bob Johns of the Center for Transportation Studies at the University of Minnesota providing an Executive Level Accountability and Measures for Research. The session will be held in the Hilton Washington, Hemisphere room.

and

a TRB "Spotlight" Session 505: Tuesday, January 24, 2006, 1:30 PM - 3:15 PM, Hilton Advancing Future Transportation with Breakthrough Innovations with Committee Member Debra S. Elston, Federal Highway Administration, presiding. This session will highlight the findings of 2005's FHWA-sponsored advanced research think tank forums. These forums presented some breakthrough innovations to provide a basis for developing an FHWA Advanced Research Agenda. As the advanced research agenda unfolds, leveraging resources through expanded partnerships is in order to achieve revolutionary transportation improvements. The session will feature opening remarks from Dennis C. Judycki, Federal Highway Administration, forum facilitator Glen Hiemstra, Consultant, and RTCC Member Timothy R. Neuman of CH2M Hill.

Member Profile: Ed Seymour, Texas Transportation Institute

One of the newest members of the committee, Dr. Seymour is an Associate Director at the Texas Transportation Institute. He is head of the Transportation Operations Group that includes offices in College Station, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. The programs affiliated with the Transportation Operations Group include: intelligent transportation systems (ITS), traffic sensor technology, traffic management, traffic signal operations, work zone safety, traffic safety, traffic signs and markings, geometric design, railroad-highway grade crossings, professional development, and implementation offices located in urban areas. These programs represent approximately one-third of the TTI research program base with $12 million in authorized funding and approximately 140 employees.

Dr. Seymour's research focuses on ITS architecture and standards and on transportation systems operations and management. He is also involved with technology transfer activities that are affiliated with several organizations. Since 1996 Dr. Seymour has served as chairperson of the National Transportation Communications for ITS Protocols (NTCIP) Committee jointly sponsored by the standards development organizations of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) and the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE). In addition he has served in leadership roles with several professional societies and national transportation related initiatives.

Prior to joining TTI Dr. Seymour worked for the City of Dallas, Texas where for 10 years he was an Assistant Director with responsibility for freeway operations; traffic signal operations; regulation of taxis, limousines and shuttles; regulation of commercial passenger vehicle ground transportation at DFW Airport; and adjudication of parking tickets.

Subcommittee and Team Reports

Each team worked on their plans and initiatives at the mid-year meeting, several of which contribute to subcommittee responsibilities. Additional details on those initiatives can be found in the midyear meeting minutes available on the website at http://www.mrutc.org/cor/#summaries. Subcommittee Chairs and Team Leaders will provide updates on their activities at the annual meeting and these updates will also be posted on the website shortly after the meeting.

Feature

"A New Focus on Advanced Research for FHWA"

In addition to Debra Elston, Director of the organizing office for this event, six other members of the COR committee recently participated in a round of FHWA think tanks, designed to maximize stakeholder input toward a future Advanced Research Agenda for FHWA. Laurie McGinnis, Jason Bittner, Leni Oman, Wes Lum, Monique Evans and Dick McReynolds all contributed to this successful effort. First, a special thank you for your support and valued participation.

Too often, the time lag between completion of a research study and the actual application of the study's findings makes it difficult to clearly assess the benefits of investing in research. This can be an even greater challenge when looking at long-term exploratory research that, by definition, carries the risk of no payoff but also the reward of extremely high payoff. While recognizing its high-cost and high-risk nature, the FHWA is committed to a renewed effort that will realign its role in support of advanced research.

In the words of Rick Capka, Acting Administrator for FHWA, "funding and conducting R&D activities of national significance is a basic responsibility of the Federal Government, both in its leadership role to develop and advance new technologies to serve the public, and in its stewardship role to use national resources efficiently. At FHWA, we have emphasized this in defining our role as "Innovators for a Better Future." To successfully accomplish our mission, we must conduct fundamental, long-term highway research; research aimed at improving safety; research aimed at significant highway research gaps and emerging issues with national implications; and research related to policy, planning, and environment."

The Corporate Master Plan for Research and Deployment of Technology and Innovation (CMP) was published in 2003 with the goal of establishing a cohesive, agency-level plan to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of FHWA's Research & Technology (R&T) Program. Guiding Principle #2 of the CMP addresses FHWA's commitment to "increase focus on long-term, high cost, high-risk research..." with specific commitments to:

Adding political support, the recently passed Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act — A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) authorized a substantial increase in Federal spending on "exploratory advanced research" in the amount of $14 million per year. This level of funding exceeds historically legislated support for advanced research and signifies a greater expectation from the public to use the necessary resources for such research.

A Corporate Framework

The first step in addressing our corporate commitments was to establish a common understanding of "advanced" research. The definition was thus established as: "research that involves and draws upon basic research results to provide a better understanding of phenomena and develop innovative solutions. Sometimes referred to as exploratory research in order to convey its more fundamental character, its broader objectives, and the greater uncertainty in expected outcomes compared to problem-solving research."

With this, we set out to determine how much of our on-going research activities could be classified as advanced research. Establishing a baseline of advanced research projects was a necessary prerequisite to working with stakeholders to increase FHWA's advanced research efforts. The baseline assessment took place in early-2004 and was carried out by a 5-member panel of non-FHWA experts. The panel was asked to independently assess, from a list of 60 projects, how many met the established definition for advanced research. Using a web-based review, the panel determined that two-thirds of the projects were correctly identified as advanced research. This represented (in fiscal year 2003) an investment of just over $7 million.

Setting an Advanced Research Agenda

The next step was to develop a plan to bring together government, private sector and university researchers with FHWA's managers and decision makers to explore possibilities for a future advanced research agenda. Working with the Department's Volpe Center and well-known futurist, Glen Hiemstra of Futurist.com, a series of think tanks with the theme "Advancing Future Transportation with Breakthrough Innovations" were conducted. Three events were held in Boston, Minneapolis and Berkeley, with close to 100 participants actively involved in the development and identification of long-term research needs and priorities.

For each think tank, speakers were invited based on their involvement in cutting-edge research and/or their ability to scan the future for important developments and research opportunities. The range of speakers covered topics such as "Old Age and New Demands on the National Transportation System" (Joseph Coughlin, Massachusetts Institute of Technology); "Green by Design — Lifecycle and Systems Aspects" (Chris Hendrickson, Carnegie Mellon University); "Advanced Lightweight Vehicles — Key to the Oil Endgame" (Amory Lovins, Rocky Mountain Institute), "Re-engineering Concrete Infrastructure — from the Nanoworld of Materials Science to the Bridge of the Future" (Franz-Josef Ulm, MIT), and "Prospects for Travel in the 3rd Dimension" (Guy Kemmerly, NASA).

Glen Hiemstra discussion 'What is Your Vision of the Future?' Sept. 20, 2005, Minneapolis, MN
Glen Hiemstra discussion "What is Your Vision of the Future?" Sept. 20, 2005, Minneapolis, MN

The design for the presentations and roundtable discussions was to engage one or two speakers for a period of time, followed by a roundtable discussion to share reactions, and then engage the speakers in give and take. With the knowledge base thus gained, the final half-day shifted in focus to developing recommendations. A modified version of the nominal group technique was used to (a) maximize individual input within a group process, (b) move relatively quickly through a complex set of ideas to priority decisions, and (c) reduce the ability of any one person to dominate a group in its decision.

Recommended Research Topics

The recommended research topics from all three think tank forums crosscut the Department's strategic objectives and vision. The highest priority research needs were compiled from each forum, resulting in the following major themes for an advanced research agenda:

Highest Priority Research Recommendations

Summary reports of the forum proceedings are available upon request (CD-format). Please contact Ms. Danielle Tope at 202-493-3190 or Danielle.Tope@fhwa.dot.gov if you would like a copy. A final report is also being prepared by FHWA's Office of Corporate Research & Technology. All materials will be made available online at www.fhwa.dot.gov/crt.

During the 2006 annual TRB meeting, the Conduct of Research Committee will host a panel session on Tuesday, January 24 from 1:30 to 3:15 p.m. in the Hilton's Lincoln West room. The session is titled "Advancing Future Transportation with Breakthrough Innovations." Debra Elston will moderate a discussion focused on the FHWA commitment to advanced research. Panelists Denny Judycki, Research, Development and Technology Associate Administrator for FHWA, Glen Heimstra founder of Futurist.com, and Timothy Neuman Vice President of CH2MHill will present a discussion framework for implementing an advanced research agenda.

Two key elements necessary for the successful execution of an advanced research agenda are already in place. First, the Agency has responded to its own, as well as external assessments identifying the need for a stakeholder-driven agenda setting process. Second, a clear commitment to fund such research efforts has been established, as authorized under SAFETEA-LU.

A third key element is part of the Agency's next step to implement selected priority research ideas. The current organizational structure follows a decentralized approach with a large portion of advanced research projects being carried out by the mission-focused program offices. This is not necessarily an ineffective approach, particularly given past levels of funding for this type of research. The Agency also understands the need for a corporate approach to managing a viable advanced research program. Concurrently, FHWA will continue to seek partnerships and collaborative efforts that aim to leverage both the high cost and high-risk associated with advanced research.

For more information, please contact Ariam Asmerom 202-493-3469 or Debra Elston 202-493-3181.

Article authored by Ariam Asmerom, Office of Corporate Research and Technology, FHWA.

TRB & Other Important Related News

Transportation Library Connectivity Pooled Fund Study

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation is the lead state on Transportation Pooled Fund TPF-5(105) Transportation Library Connectivity. This pooled fund, under the guidance of a full-time staff person and with the support of a comprehensive marketing plan and materials, intend to implement a national transportation technology transfer program for information and knowledge management. This effort consists of technical assistance and network development. The pooled fund study will encourage and support the development and growth of DOT library information and knowledge networks. Eleven states and the MRUTC at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are project sponsors. The Pooled Fund study participants met jointly with the Midwest Transportation Knowledge Network in October. More information is available at: www.mtkn.org or www.mrutc.org.

SAFETEA-LU Research Funding Authorizations

The Transportation Research Board has released tables detailing the transportation research funding authorized in the Safe, Accountable, , Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU). Generally, a 17% increase in general research funding was authorized. http://trb.org/publications/admin/SAFETEALUcompare&research.pdf

2006 Appropriations Legislation Signed

President Bush signed the 2006 Transportation, Treasury, Housing and Urban Development, the Judiciary, the District of Columbia, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act on November 30.

Upcoming Events

TRB Annual Meeting

January 22-26, 2006. Web: www.trb.org

Transportation Research Forum Annual Conference

March 23-25, 2006 New York, New York. Web: http://www.trforum.org/forum/2006/

AASHTO Standing Committee on Research Meeting

March 28-30, 2006 Washington, District of Columbia.

National AASHTO Research Advisory Council (RAC) Meeting

July 10-13, 2006 Columbus, Ohio.

TRB Summer Conference

July 10-13, 2006 San Diego, California. Web: http://www.trb.org/Conferences/JointSummer/

For Your Bookshelf

Surface Transportation Reauthorization Arrives

Read Ann Brach's article in TR News 240 September-October 2005, pages 39-42.

TransForum: News from Argonne's Transportation Technology R&D Center

Available electronically at: www.transportation.anl.gov