Transportation Research Board - Transportation Symposium on Environment, Energy, and Livable Economies Symposium Planning Committee Members Page

Symposium Planning Committee Members

Qadeer Ahmed [AMS30] is a Research Associate Professor with the Departments of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Electrical and Computer Engineering and a core faculty affiliate of the Center for Automotive Research, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA. He received a Ph.D. degree in Control Systems from Mohammad Ali Jinnah University, Islamabad, Pakistan, in 2011. His research includes controls, optimization, and diagnostics of automotive systems with a focus on their efficiency, safety, and security. He has authored more than 100+ international peer-reviewed publications and received the OSU's Lumley Research Award in 2018, SAE's Buckendale Award in 2019, and SAE's Forest R. McFarland Award in 2022. He has secured $6M in research awards funded by US DOE, US DOT, Automotive OEMs, and Suppliers. A few ongoing projects are USDOE Super Truck 2, USDOE Super Truck 3, USDOT UTC CARMEN, and USDOE CoVaR. He is also the lead advisor of the Buckeye AutoDrive Team participating in the SAE/GM AutoDrive Challenge and affiliated with OSU's Sustainability Institute, Institute of Cybersecurity and Digital Trust, and 6GandBeyond.

Dr. Samer Dessouky [AMS20], P.E. is a professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering at University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). He has more than 20 years of experience in pavement materials analysis, sustainability and traffic safety. Dr. Dessouky has led and participated in several state and national research projects. He has more than 120 technical publications in top journals. He is the recipient of the ASCE best green engineering technology awards in 2016 and 2017, Transportation Achievement Award-Design from ITE. He is the former chair of the bituminous committee of construction institute, associate director of TRAN-SET regional University Transportation Center and active member of ASCE and TRB committee AMS20. He is a professional engineer in Ohio and Texas.

Rebecca Dodder [AMS30] is a Physical Scientist and Branch Chief for the Combustion Source Branch in the Center for Environmental Measurement and Modeling, part of the U.S. EPA's Office of Research and Development. She currently manages work related to mobile source emissions characterization as well as emissions from stationary sources, cookstoves, and wildland fires. Her own research has focused on transportation energy and fuels using energy system modeling and life cycle assessment, with work on renewable fuels and other biomass-based energy, the water-energy nexus, agricultural-energy market integration, vehicle mass reduction, vehicle electrification, and automation. Rebecca is also highly involved in STEM education and community outreach. Her research and outreach efforts were recognized in 2016 with a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) and in 2018 with the Author S. Flemming Award for outstanding public service. Rebecca also serves as Chair for TRB's Committee on Transportation Energy and serves in editorial roles for Transportation Research Record and Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment. Rebecca earned her PhD in Technology, Management, and Policy from MIT, MA in Science, Technology and Public Policy from George Washington University, and BA in Physics and Spanish from Vanderbilt University.

Dr. Jing Dong-O'Brien [AMS40] is a transportation engineer at the Center for Transportation Research and Education. Before joining Iowa State University, she worked at the U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory as a research staff member from 2010 to 2012. From 2009 to 2010, she was a postdoctoral researcher at the Northwestern University Transportation Center.

James S. (Jim) Gillespie [AMS50] is a Senior Research Scientist at the Virginia Transportation Research Council (VTRC). He has done transport research for over twenty-five years on projects ranging from transportation finance, forecasting, demand modeling, and cost-benefit analysis, to life-cycle cost analysis, equipment management, and innovative contracting. He has authored or co-authored numerous reports and published articles on these topics. As a member of the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT)'s research arm Mr. Gillespie benefits from access both to the administrators in the capital who determine state-wide policy and to the area superintendents, resident administrators and district staff who oversee the day-to-day deployment of personnel and equipment. He has a M.A. in Economics from the University of Virginia and a B.A. in Chemistry from the University of Chicago. Mr. Gillespie is a member of the TRB Committee on Economic Development and Land Use (AMS50), a past member of the TRB Committee on Economics, Revenue, and Finance (AJE50), and a past member of the TRB Committee on Public Transit Planning and Development (AP025). He has served on two TCRP project panels and seven NCHRP project panels, three of which he chaired. He is also a member of the American Economic Association.

Zach Henkin [AMS40] is a certified project management professional with more than 10 years' experience in transportation electrification policy and programs. At CSE, he leads qualitative and quantitative research and analysis focused on the adoption of electric vehicles and EV infrastructure. Zach has led numerous nationally scaled electric vehicle demonstration projects, and his work in transportation equity, workplace charging and consumer education are referenced broadly. Zach has an MBA from Marylhurst University with a specialization in renewable energy and is a Third Derivative cleantech mentor.  He is currently a CFA charterholder of the CFA Institute; and serves as a member in the TRB Transportation Energy Committee and the chair of the TRB Joint Subcommittee on International Aspects of Transportation Energy (sponsoring with AMS30 and AMS40).

Jeff Lidicker [AMS30] has been working in transportation alternative fuels technology, infrastructure, and economics for over ten years. While at the California Air Resources Board, he developed policy and regulations such as the Clean Miles Standard regulation on Uber, Lyft, and other ridesharing entities and the Advanced Clean Cars II regulation on vehicle manufacturers. He also functioned as oversight on VW's $800 million zero emission vehicle investment fund for California. Prior to that, Jeff was a professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Michigan Technological University, and Director of Statistical Consulting Services at Temple University. Currently, he holds a position at the California Public Utilities Commission developing policy on grid demand response, reliability, and other distributed energy resource topics such as microgrids and vehicle to grid integration. Jeff holds a doctorate degree in Transportation Engineering from The University of California at Berkeley, a master's degree in Statistics from Temple University, is Secretary of the TRB Alternative Fuels and Technology Committee, and has over thirty peer-reviewed publications in transportation, renewable energy economics, and medical research. In his spare time, he enjoys hiking, biking, birding, gardening, and of course streaming movies and shows.

Dr. Jane Lin (Co-Chair) is Professor of Department of Civil and Materials Engineering and holds a joint appointment with the Institute for Environmental Science and Policy (IESP) at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her research has three focus areas: sustainable transportation analysis with a focus on emissions and air quality modeling and exposure, green freight transportation and urban logistics, and computational transportation science. Lin has over seventy-five refereed publications and over 130 conference presentations. She has also given 20 invited speeches as a keynote speaker, a panelist, or a session speaker. Lin has received over $4.72 million research funding as PI or co-PI from various sources including the National Science Foundation (NSF), Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), and Transportation Research Board (TRB). Lin is Editor of Transport Policy, and Associate Editor of Transportation Research Part D: Transportation and Environment. She also serves on the editorial boards of Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice and International Journal of Sustainable Transportation. Since October 2017, Lin has been serving as Vice Chair of the Section on Energy and Environment (ADC00) of the Transportation Research Board (TRB). Prior to that, she served as Chair of TRB Committee on Transportation and Air Quality (now renamed to Committee on Air Quality and Greenhouse Gas Mitigation) between 2011 and 2017. Lin received her MS and PhD degrees from University of California, Davis, and BS from Tsinghua University, Beijing, China. She was a post-doctoral fellow at the Harvard University Center for the Environment, Cambridge, MA before joining UIC.

Chad R. Miller, Ph.D. [AMS50], a Professor of Economic Development in the University of Southern Mississippi College of Business and Economic Development, is Graduate Coordinator of the Master of Science of Economic Development program. He works closely with the Trent Lott National Center providing technical expertise and mentoring student community research. His research focus is on the relationship of transportation and economic development. He has extensive private and public sector experience including managing shipping and global distribution for American companies based in China and Vietnam. He was also an Army Officer stationed in the Pacific Rim. He first became involved with economic development as a trade specialist in Maryland. Prior to joining USM, he worked for the Virginia Tech Office of Economic Development. Chad has a Ph.D. from the Virginia Tech Center for Public Administration & Policy, a MBA from Boston University, and a BA in Government from the College of William & Mary. He was a member of Transportation and Economic Development (ADD10) and is now a member of AMS 50 Economic Development and Land Use

Peter Ogonowski, Ph.D. [AMS50] – In addition to being the Secretary of the Economic Development and Land Use Committee (AMS50), Dr. Ogonowski is a Principal Economist at HDR. He has over 22 years of professional experience specializing in economic/financial feasibility (Benefit-Cost Analysis), economic impacts, and macroeconomic analyses of various transportation projects domestically and internationally. Dr. Ogonowski earned his Ph.D. in Business from Capella University, Masters Degree in Economics from York University, has an Honors Bachelors Degree in Economics, Urban & Economic Geography, and Criminology from the University of Toronto, and is also a Licensed International Financial Analyst (LIFA) Charterholder. Dr. Ogonowski has also taught economics to Valencia College and University of Central Florida students at the Orlando Campuses.

Dr. Shiqi (Shawn) Ou [AMS40] is currently a Professor at the School of Future Technology at the South China University of Technology, Guangzhou China. Before joining as a faculty member, he had worked as an R&D Staff at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory for 8 years until 2023. Dr. Ou has been committed to interdisciplinary research on transportation, energy environment, and electrified vehicle systems. Through the computational models based on artificial intelligence algorithms, the research aims to promote the optimization of zero-emissions vehicle systems and infrastructure and to provide the projection and optimization for carbon emission reduction pathways in the energy industry.

Sara Post, PE [AMS20], is a Research Engineer in the Natural Resources Research Institute at the University of Minnesota Duluth and has an environmental and geological engineering background. Her research activities have included by-product reuse in pothole repair materials and mineland reclamation, mineral particulate matter characterization (especially in lake sediments), lake sediment chemistry, and geologic resource mapping. Other research interests include geologic hazards, groundwater, stormwater management, and environmental remediation.

Shawn Rapp [AMS20] is the Statewide Senior HazMat Geologist and the HazMat Program Lead in the Geologic Engineering and Geotechnical Engineering Section ODOT's Technical Leadership Center. He is responsible for Hazardous Materials and Environmental Geology standards, acts at the lead on larger statewide projects, and provides technical support to ODOT Regions. He has worked for the Oregon Department of Transportation for 7 years. Prior to working for ODOT, Shawn worked for the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality for over 6 years as a Project Manager in the Cleanup Program. Prior to his public service, Shawn worked for several environmental consulting firms as a Staff Geologist and Project Manager for 7 years in Oregon and Ohio. Shawn is a licensed Registered Geologist in the State of Oregon

Annalisa Schilla [AMS10] Leads the California Air Resources Board's Community Action Branch and supports local actions to pursue sustainable, equitable communities. My team provides resources to support local climate action planning, assesses whether transportation and land use development projects support the State's air quality and climate goals, supports advancement of building codes to increase electrification of the building and transportation sectors, seeks to identify and address barriers to equitable zero-emission mobility in local communities, and oversees research to promote sustainable land use and transportation planning and equitable, clean mobility.

Tim Sexton (Co-Chair) currently serves as the Assistant Commissioner for Sustainability, Planning, and Program Management for the Minnesota Department of Transportation. In this role, he provides executive oversight for sustainable transportation, modal planning, research and innovation, asset management, and programming the state's $1 billion capital transportation program budget. Tim previously served as the first Chief Sustainability Officer at a state department of transportation and directed transit, biking, walking, and environmental policy and programs in Minnesota and Washington State. He has served in several appointed roles with the National Academy of Science's Transportation Research Board (TRB), the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), and the World Road Association/PIARC task force on climate resilience. Tim has an MS in Urban and Regional Planning and MPH in Environmental Health from the University of Iowa.