Greg Winfree and Zac Doerzaph, leaders of America’s two most prominent transportation research agencies (Texas A&M Transportation Institute and Virgina Tech Transportation Institute), share their insights on the nation’s mobility priorities, and what university-based research can do to support those priorities. In this clip they talk with host Bernie Fette about the challenges of recognising and fostering innovation. Hear the whole episode at the Thinking Transportation Podcast homepage or find it – and more like it – on your favorite streaming service. (They talk a little about motorcycles and teleportation, too.)
Guest info:
Greg Winfree became TTI’s agency director in 2016 after working at the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT). He began his USDOT service as chief counsel in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology and was later sworn in as assistant secretary. He also served as deputy administrator and administrator of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration. Prior to those appointments, Greg served as corporate counsel for a number of Fortune 500 corporations, and also worked as a trial attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice.
Zac Doerzaph is the executive director of the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) and a faculty member in the department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics at Virginia Tech. Under his direction, VTTI and the team of faculty, staff, and students are working on a variety of solutions that will create ubiquitous safe, effective, resilient, and sustainable transportation for the world. VTTI and TTI collaborate regularly within the Safety through Disruption National University Transportation Center, a grant from the USDOT’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology, University Transportation Centers Program.
