Pep Rally

January can be a long month in some professions.  The holidays have passed and for most parts of the country, the cold weather and gray skies have set in.  In transportation research, the return to the office means it’s time to start planning for a pep rally– the Transportation Research Board (TRB) Annual Meeting.  This year marks the 91^st Annual TRB Meeting.  Held annually in Washington, D.C., TRB draws around 11,000 transportation professionals from around the world to learn about the latest research in all aspects and modes of transportation.

My company, VHB, is proud to be an affiliate member of TRB.  Many of my coworkers attend the annual meeting, several presenting or participating in the important work of the technical committees.  This includes my colleague, Walter Kraft, from our Newark office.  Walter, an expert in transportation operations, has attended at least the last 40 consecutive meetings.  (He’s actually lost count but he knows it’s over 40). 

The meeting organizers, recognizing the value of Walter’s experience, asked him to provide a consultant’s perspective at one of the opening events of this year’s conference.  Entitled So You Want to be a Transportation Professional, the event is a workshop designed to give young professionals entering or considering the profession an opportunity to interact with professionals like Walter and learn about possible career paths. 

My first TRB meeting was while I was an undergraduate at Michigan State University.  I had spent the previous summer as a transportation intern for a local municipality.  I enjoyed the job and the people I worked with but I didn’t see any opportunity to impact highway safety.  My experiences were so limited at that point, I concluded just from that summer job that a career in transportation wasn’t for me.  My academic schedule for the following year included highway design.  Although my thoughts had turned to structures and math at that point, I left the class on my schedule anyway. 

Highway design was taught by former State DOT designer, Dr. Tom Maleck. Enthusiastic about transportation, Dr. Maleck organized an annual trip to TRB for his students.   I attended the conference with the rest of my classmates because it was an excuse to visit D.C.  The metropolitan city was the perfect back drop to the conference.  The ultra clean and efficient metro, filled with young professionals on their way to work in the Nation’s capital, whisked us from our hotel in Arlington to the conference hotel in Woodley Park.  Inside the hotel, policy makers, administrators, practitioners, researchers, and representatives of government, industry, and academic institutions met to discuss ideas.  My classmates and I attended numerous presentations in rooms filled to capacity with people who wanted to hear other professionals present their research and engage in a discussion (and some, in a debate) about the findings.  Absolutely unexpectedly, the conference inspired me. 

I’ve attended the meeting every year since, including when I was 9 months pregnant with my first child.  This year will be my 16^th consecutive TRB.  (I realize that compared to Walter, I’m still a novice.) 

I’m greatly looking forward to this year’s meeting, now only 14 days away.  Several of my colleagues and friends in the industry are presenting their findings.  I’m excited to hear what they have to say; I know I’ll leave inspired once again. 

If you are interested in learning more about TRB, please visit their website at www.trb.org.  If it’s your first TRB, prepare to be inspired and be sure to attend Walter’s workshop (Workshop 148, 1:00 PM on Sunday at the Marriott Woodley Park).