Where Does the Time Go?
Many quotes, song lyrics, and messages of friendly advice I have received over the years suggest that life goes faster than you think, so don’t blink! I wholeheartedly agree! A year has passed very quickly and my term as President of T&DI will come to an end on September 30.
Where did the year go?
When I wrote to you last October, I said:
- Our Board of Governors will continue to support you as an existing member of T&DI and provide opportunities for new members to join us. I have worked with many of you in this capacity during the past 11 months, enhancing content for existing members and welcoming many new faces to our annual meeting this past June in Seattle.
- We will find ways to better communicate with you and increase participation from our existing membership. Although the latter is more difficult to assess, attendance growth at ICTD and our improved web, mail, and social media communication have been significant steps in a positive direction.
- We will support our councils and committees and help continue a strategic direction for each that further identify and clarify activities and make our membership aware of the great contributions each is making. We welcomed several new leaders in our technical committees and have strategically focused on internal and external communications in support of council and committee activities.
- We would share expertise on lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic to better plan, operate, and maintain the transportation system through papers published in a special edition of the Journal of Transportation Engineering (JTE). The response has been excellent, and the list of high-quality papers continues to grow on the special edition website.
- We will support our ASCE “Tech Talks” and Virtual Cutting-Edge Technology Tours (V-CETT).
- We will support our return to in-person meetings and attend the International Conference on Transportation & Development (ICTD) in Seattle, Washington on May 31–June 3, 2022. We had a wonderful well-supported conference with nearly 1,000 attendees, including many of you.
- We will support T&DI efforts to include education and workforce development, build stronger relationships with our university student chapters, strengthen our relationship with young transportation engineering faculty members and our colleagues in academics, consider Engineer Smart Everything (ESX) Codes and Standards, and continue to build a broader effort in the areas of diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout T&DI.
- We will establish a Board of Governors who know each other better, creating a more collaborative leadership team and serving our membership more effectively. Through a new monthly meeting item called “I am”, each board member had the opportunity to share their story and introduce us to their families, activities, and likes. We truly got to know each other better which has made our leadership team more effective. We also had the opportunity to spend time together at ICTD in Seattle, and discuss T&DI business virtually each month throughout the year.
Done, done, done, done, done, done, done, and done! I sincerely thank the Board of Governors for working hard to support all of these activities throughout the year.
I look forward to seeing all of you again at ICTD 2023 in Austin, Texas. Remember that we will be co-located and joined by the ASCE International Airfield and Highway Pavements Conference. Please lock in the dates – June 14-17, 2023 and refer to the conference website and call for papers/presentations.
I now step aside and place the leadership of T&DI in the very capable hands of Roger Millar, who currently serves as Secretary of the Washington State Department of Transportation. I’m confident his leadership will move T&DI forward and further enhance our accomplishments and desire to build a world-class Institute.
Thanks again to the Board of Governors, T&DI members, and friends for helping make this year extremely enjoyable. Also a sincere thanks to our “A Team” T&DI staff, Amer, Leanne, and Melissa, who make this Institute run efficiently and effectively each and every day!
As always, your thoughts and feedback are welcome. Please reach out to me if you would like to learn more or need assistance finding an active role in our Institute. Thank you for all you do and will do for this wonderful Institute we call T&DI. Stay healthy and safe, and don’t blink!
Best wishes,
David A. Noyce, Ph.D., P.E.
President, Transportation & Development Institute (T&DI)
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)