2016 Purdue Road School Transportation Conference and Expo
| Event Date: | March 9, 2016 |
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This year’s event included over 150 technical sessions involving approximately 250 speakers and moderators. The program made 149 Professional Development Hours (PDHs)/Continuing Education Units (CEUs) credits available, including 2 hours of Indiana Statutes and Ethics for Professional Engineers.
Purdue’s Associate Vice President for Engagement, Steve Abel, kicked off the opening session with updates on Purdue’s newer buildings and renovations. Darcy Bullock, JTRP Director, provided a conference overview and highlighted the impact of archiving Road School presentations and making this information accessible long after the conference ends.
The Opening Session featured three keynote speakers. Brandye Hendrickson, INDOT Commissioner, discussed local agency partnership opportunities and introduced her new sidewalk initiative. The Mayor of Lafayette, Tony Roswarski, spoke about downtown Lafayette’s facelift and the global impact of the new GE plant. Executive Director for the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), Jeff Paniati, explained how transportation and ITE are evolving to meet current trends and innovations, including connected vehicles, changing demographics, and “smart” cities using automated technology.
John Haddock, LTAP Director, concluded the Opening Session by inviting participants to visit the Exhibitor Hall/Luncheon and the Student Poster Session in addition to the scheduled technical sessions.
At Wednesday’s Road School Luncheon, the keynote address was given by Jamie Miller, Senior Vice President of GE and President and Chief Executive Officer of GE Transportation. She highlighted GE’s goal of becoming a leading digital industrial company with software-defined machines and solutions that are connected, responsive and predictive.
A time-lapse video highlighting the Opening Session, Exhibitor Hall/Luncheon, and Wednesday Luncheon can be viewed here: http://tinyurl.com/2016-Road-School-Recap
Additional photos from 2016 Road School can be viewed here: http://tinyurl.com/2016-Road-School
Purdue Road School is a great Indiana tradition that brings together federal, state and local agencies, elected officials, and professionals from industry, consulting and academia to collaborate and reflect on diverse transportation throughout your county, state, and country. Please mark your calendars for next year’s Road School, March 7-9, 2017.