Job Alert: Lead Research General Engineer – Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) – McLean, Virginia

June 29, 2015 at 6:10 pm

This position is for the Team Leader of the Transportation Enabling Technologies Team in the Office of Operations Research and Development (R&D). The incumbent specializes in research management, the conduct of exploratory advanced research related to advanced traffic management and operations systems, and the development of transportation enabling technologies.

The ideal candidate will have strong transportation or transportation-related R&D experience with advanced degrees in one or more of the following enabling technology areas (listed in alphabetical order): civil engineering; computer science; cyber-physical systems; electrical engineering; mathematics/statistics; mechanical engineering; real-time data capture, management, and analytics; software engineering; or, systems engineering. He/she is a thought leader at the national and international levels and has been recognized for past scientific and engineering contributions in the development and application of transportation operations, Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), or connected-automated vehicle technologies. He/she will have experience in managing a team of research professionals and conducting laboratory and field research in the fields of transportation operations, ITS, or connected-automated vehicles. The ideal candidate has expert experience facilitating the development, implementation, and/or evaluation of national technologies, policies, programs, and budgets in a research environment, and has experience communicating this knowledge, orally and in writing, to a variety of audiences.

You will be requested to do a presentation and complete a writing sample as part of the interview process.

TRAVEL REQUIRED

  • Occasional Travel
  • Occasional Travel is required less than 25%

KEY REQUIREMENTS

  • You must be a U.S. citizen & meet specialized experience to qualify.
  • Submit application and resume online by 11:59 PM EST on the closing date.
  • Review Required Documents Section as documents are required by closing date
  • Job announcement may be used to fill similar positions within 30 days.
  • Announcement also advertised merit promotion: FHWA.HRT-2015-0001

DUTIES:

As a Lead Research General Engineer, you will:

  • Demonstrate classic management knowledge, skills, and abilities in leading change, leading people, being results driven, demonstrating business acumen, building coalitions, and demonstrating and promoting excellence in oral and written communications.
  • Provide expert knowledge in traffic engineering and transportation management theory specializing in one or more of the following areas: signal systems, communications, surveillance and detection, data management, cyber-physical systems, and modeling and simulation of the impacts of hardware, software, standards, and operating practices on mobility, safety, environment, energy, and other performance areas.
  • Plan, develop, coordinate, and conduct a research and development program in traffic operations and traffic management to produce transportation enabling technologies in areas such as transportation data collection and management; cyber-physical systems, sensing systems; wireless communications; connected and automated vehicle technologies; and positioning, navigation and timing.
  • Lead the planning and conduct of a national program of research by means of partner and customer inclusion and through active liaison, collaboration, and coordination with other FHWA offices, Federal agencies, state and local highway agencies, AASHTO, TRB, ITS America, ITE, IEEE, SAE consortia, user groups, universities, private industry, and the highway community in general.
  • Work closely with Office of Operations, Resource Center, and other FHWA offices, as well as with state highway agencies to translate and transfer the team’s research and development results to the highway community and to assure that research products are marketed and deployed as rapidly as possible.
  • Represent FHWA nationally and internationally to initiate technical exchange, recommend international partnerships that are potentially beneficial to FHWA and the US Department of Transportation, and coordinates U.S. research and development with foreign countries under the auspices of TRB and through the International Programs Office and interagency agreements.
  • Use essential leadership skills to enhance team productivity and commitment to research products and services that contribute to the strategic goals and objectives of the agency
    .

Learn about the newest Connected/Automated Vehicle Test Bed at the Contra Costa Transportation TRB Reception

January 7, 2015 at 11:08 pm

Re-defining Mobility

Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) – Connected Vehicle/Autonomous Vehicle (CV/AV) Program

Surface transportation, as we know it today will soon be radically changed with the introduction of Connected Vehicles (CV) and Autonomous Vehicles (AV).  Technology is evolving so that the automobile – once the ultimate symbol of freedom and autonomy – is now becoming autonomous itself!

With 5,000 acres of testing area and over 20 miles of paved roadway, the CCTA’s Testbed, located at the Concord Naval Weapons Station in Concord, CA – is currently the largest secure test bed site in the United States.  Discover how this collaborative partnership structure will support development for tomorrow’s multimodal transportation technology.

Join us for refreshments and hors d’oeuvres

As CCTA’s Executive Director, Randy Iwasaki will present an overview of the CCTA’s CV/AV Testbed and provide an opportunity to learn about this comprehensive research and real-world program.

Where: Marriott Marquis, University of DC (M1)

When: Wednesday, January 14, 2015, 6-8 pm

Mark your calendars to attend the CCTA CV/AV Summit, March 31, 2015 @ Concord, CA

Chart of the Day – 180,000 self-driving cars will be shipped globally by 2020

December 23, 2014 at 6:48 pm

There is so much confusion and variation in the estimates/predictions when you hear the industry experts and forecasters talk about automated vehicles. Despite the challenges, there has been significant progress in the recent years and it is only getting more intense as the auto OEMs as well the tech geeks in Silicon Valley ramp up their investments and the research in the race to reach the holy grail.. Amidst all this chaos, comes this bold prediction.. 180,000 self-driving cars will be shipped globally by 2020.

Based on Frost & Sullivan estimates charted for us by BI Intelligence, there will be about 180,000 self-driving cars shipped globally by 2020. The market research firm adds that “you are likely to commute in autonomous cars” by 2025, which is a pretty bold statement considering that’s only a decade from now. 

And of course the source article doesn’t clearly articulate whether it is all Level 4 autonomy (no human input needed for operation)?  Do you agree with this prediction? Click here to read the article

Image Courtesy: Business Insider

 

Call for Papers: ITS America 25th Annual Meeting & Exposition

December 9, 2014 at 6:20 pm

Steps and Instructions: 

  1. Technical Papers

    Papers should address technical subjects as well as the institutional, policy, business and economic aspects of ITS. All papers must be original and report on recent, significant and substantive achievements. All papers must relate to one of the eight main topics provided.

    Papers must be submitted as final, be at least six pages and no longer than 12 pages single spaced. Technical papers will be reviewed by a peer panel that will look for quality, relevance, and significance of the findings.

  2. Guidelines for Paper Submission

    • The deadline for submitting papers is Friday, February 6, 2015. Papers will not be accepted after this date. This deadline will not be extended.
    • Submitted papers must be in final form and follow the formatting instructions outlined here.
    • Papers must be submitted as final, be at least six pages and no longer than 12 pages single spaced.
    • Graphics are encouraged to enhance the presentation of the technical material.
    • Authors may submit up to three papers.
    • Papers may have up to five listed authors. Please note only the presenting author will be listed in the 2015 ITS America Annual Meeting and Exposition Final Program.
    • To help organize the technical sessions, please accurately specify the topic area that best describes the subject of your paper.
    • Upon submission, the primary author will receive a confirmation email.
    • If a paper is accepted, the primary author will be informed by mid-March 2015.
    • If the paper is conditionally accepted, the author must make sufficient changes to the paper, suggested by the reviewer, and resubmit the revised paper through the online portal by April 3, 2015.
    • Papers of a predominantly commercial nature will not be selected for presentation.
    • Presenting Authors must be registered for the 2015 ITS America Annual Meeting and Exposition by April 24, 2015 or their paper will be withdrawn from the program.
    • Please note that English is the official language of ITS America’s Annual Meetings. Papers not submitted in English will be automatically rejected.

    For more detailed information on submissions, see the Call For Papers brochure.

    For complete 25th Annual Meeting Paper Formatting Instructions, see
    Formatting Instructions.

  3. Technical Support

For help in submitting an abstract online, Contact technical support.

TECHNICAL PAPERS

Deadline for New Submissions: Friday, February 6, 2015

Infograph: Amazing Ways the Self-Driving Technology will Change the World

August 12, 2014 at 5:05 pm

via Visual.ly

Infographs are always a nice way to tell a story visually and this one below gets adopts that visual story telling to explain the complex societal impacts that are in the offing as the auto & tech heavy-weights like Google are vying to bring their self-driving technology to the mass market.. Imagine a world with no crashes, no traffic lights and no parking?  Mind boggling stuff for today’s drivers but that future doesn’t seem too distant anymore.. Though I think  Level 4 automation (i.e.,  completely autonomous) is at least a decade away, anyone would get excited about the prospect of not waiting for a light to turn green (or for that matter to not drivearound in circles looking for parking)…

The Amazing Ways The Google Car Will Change the World

The Amazing Ways The Google Car Will Change the World

Infographic: Eyes of a Car – How LiDAR enables vehicles to detect and avoid obstacles on the road

July 22, 2014 at 6:04 pm

via WSJ Yesterday’s Wall Street Journal has an interesting article that explores the roadblock posed by sky-high prices of the LiDAR units, which offer the vehicles’ “seeing” and “navigating” capabilities , in the widespread adoption automated vehicles.  That pesky little roof mounted LiDAR unit  atop the Google’s prototype vehicle apparently cost between $75,000 and $85,000, which explains why it will be a problem for mass market. Click here to read the entire article.  What caught me is this simple infographic that accompanied the article. It nicely explains how the LiDAR works.

Image: Eyes of a Car via Wall Street Journal.

Image: Eyes of a Car via Wall Street Journal.

Are you listening, Transportation Planners? Tesla Motors’ CEO Elon Musk says we are only few years from autonomous driving

February 19, 2014 at 7:54 pm

via Bloomberg TV

Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk discusses autonomous driving and how it will be available in cars in only a few years. He is confident that Tesla has the best collection of experts and would be the first company to launch a vehicle with significant ‘auto pilot” capabilities. As far as proliferation goes, Mr. Musk says we may be about 10 years away from widespread adoption of autonomous vehicle technology. Do you agree? Listen to his interview with Bloomberg Television.

Job Alert: Technology Policy Analysts (Multiple Positions) – USDOT Volpe Center @ Cambridge, MA

June 27, 2013 at 12:00 pm
Image Courtesy: Usajobs.gov

Image Courtesy: www.usajobs.gov

The Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) is looking for experienced Technology Policy Analysts to support the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center’s  Advanced Transportation Technologies Center.   RITA coordinates the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) research programs and is charged with advancing rigorous analysis and the deployment of cross-cutting technologies to improve our Nation’s transportation system.  The positions are located in the Kendall Square area in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The Volpe Center seeks multiple Technology Policy Analysts, GS-0101-11/12 and GS-0101-13 in the Technology Innovation and Policy Division, (RVT-91) within the Advanced Transportation Technologies Technical Center.   This division provides the technical and analytical support for research initiatives and decision-making at all levels of government and industry supporting all modes of transportation.  The Technology Policy Analysts primary duty is to participate as a member of a team that conducts research and applies analytical methodologies on a broad set of topics as a means of developing, comparing, and evaluating policy options in support of successful transition of technologies (e.g., connected vehicles, automated vehicles, new transportation applications, or vehicle-to-infrastructure communications, among others) from research into adoption and use.

The ideal candidate will have experience working in an environment with little policy precedence and where policy options have to be developed and created concurrently and iteratively with transportation related technology development.  This position is not focused on application of existing policies to IT or other systems, but is focused on the objective and rigorous development of new policies for new and emerging transportation technologies.

If you know someone interested in this position with relevant experience and a demonstrable record of proven results please encourage them to apply.  We are looking for a diverse pool of qualified candidates.

The announcement is posted to the Public and to Merit Promotion eligible applicants onhttp://www.usajobs.gov/.   Please know that Merit Promotion announcements are the vehicle through which Federal employees generally apply for Federal positions.

Application deadline July 11, 2013

GS-13-Open to Public:    https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/346367000

GS-13 Open to Status: (Merit Promotion) https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/346367700

GS-11/12 Open to Public:  https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/346366700

GS-11/12 Open to Status: (Merit Promotion) https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/346366200

Informational briefingFriday, June 28, 2013, from 11:00-11:30  in conference room 1-4-33A at the Volpe Center, Cambridge MA (conference call no. 1-877-336-1839/access code 6481986).  Ryan Harrington, Chief, Technology Innovation and Policy Division will hold an information session at this time to describe the job and to answer any questions interested candidates may have.  Mary Hughes from Human Resources will be there to answer questions about the application process.

Please direct any questions to Mary Hughes, Volpe Human Resources, at 617-494-2526.