Transportation Research Forum Set for Fort Worth March 16-19

Transportation specialists from across the country will meet in Fort Worth March 16-19 to share research and discuss issues facing the nation's transportation system.

The 2008 Annual Transportation Research Forum (TRF) at the Hilton Fort Worth will be hosted by the Texas Transportation Institute and sponsored by BNSF Railway. The event is open to both members and non-members. For more information on the program or to register, go to www.trforum.org.

The forum opens with an evening reception March 16. The conference sessions will begin at 7:30 a.m. March 17. The Forum will conclude March 19 with a tour of the BNSF Fort Worth Campus/Alliance Facilities.

The 2008 Forum will feature more than 75 presentations and panel discussions featuring academic researchers, government transportation specialists and industry practitioners. Topics will include: corridor planning, capacity management strategies, transportation funding, energy and the environment, air cargo, railroad growth and competition, consumer gas prices, ethanol and agricultural transportation, traffic safety, hazardous material transport, opening the U.S.-Mexico border to international trucking, and the future of federal surface transportation policies.

Speakers will include the following:

• Matt Rose, CEO of BSNF Railroad. Rose will be the keynote speaker at the March 17 noon luncheon.
• Jack Basso, director of management and business development with the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.
• Jack L. Schenendorf with the Washington, D.C. law firm of Covington & Burling, LLP. Schenendorf concentrates on transportation and legislation with a particular focus on legislative strategy, legislative procedure, and the federal budget process.
• Pete Rahn, director of the Missouri Department of Transportation and president of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials
• John Rowell, president of the Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations.
• Rick Shepherd, traffic and invoicing manager at the Plains Cotton Cooperative.
• Tim Snyder, president and founder of Agri-energysolutions, a Texas-based consulting firm focusing on renewable energy.
• Garl Boyd Latham, owner of Latham Railway Services, a Dallas-based planning and consulting firm.
• Joshua Schank, director of research for the Washington, D.C., Bipartisan Policy Center's National Transportation Policy Project
• Rod Puentes, a Fellow in the Brookings Institution's Metropolitan Planning Policy Program

Other specialists presenting information include faculty and students from universities across the United States as well as from Canada, China, Iran and Russia. The program also includes private industry experts as well as representatives from state departments of transportations, cities, and federal agencies such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The Transportation Research Forum is one of the nation's oldest transportation organizations. The organization and its annual forum provide an impartial meeting ground for transportation professionals to exchange timely information and ideas.