Kirk Steudle, longtime Director of the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and a globally recognized authority on the development of connected and automated vehicles has been nominated to receive IRF’s most distinguished individual honour.
According to the Washington-based IRF Global Chairman Eng. Abdullah A. Al-Mogbel “This accolade crowns an exceptional career and a highly respected voice on innovation in transportation, at a time when road sector stakeholders everywhere are embracing creative thinking in anticipation of new trends shaping our current transportation model”.
Established in 1951, IRF’s Man (or Woman) of the Year award recognises eminent public, private and education sector professionals with an outstanding track record of leadership and commitment to the road transport industry. Over the years, the award has recognised some of the world’s most influential transport leaders for their work in the field of advocacy, policy, research and educational programmes in support of better, safer, and more sustainable road networks globally.
Prior to his recent retirement from public service, Steudle oversaw MDOT’s US$4.7 billion annual budget and was responsible for the construction, maintenance and operation of nearly 10,000 miles of state highways and more than 4,000 state highway bridges. He served in a variety of volunteer leadership roles with the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), the Transportation Research Board (TRB), and ITS America. In October 208, he was appointed Senior Vice President at Econolite, a California-based traffic management solutions company. Throughout this distinguished career, Steudle has pioneered innovative thinking in the areas of road project performance measures, traffic safety and, more recently, the development of connected and automated vehicle systems.
Accepting the award, Mr. Steudle stated “I am quite honoured to receive this distinguished recognition from the IRF. Serving the public has been a true privilege and a very rewarding career. The IRF has been a great partner in many different areas and I am thankful for their tireless work. I look forward to continued collaboration”.
IRF Returns to Las Vegas in 2019 for Innovation Conference
A second global summit of road mobility thought-leaders and innovators will take place in Las Vegas, Nevada on November 19-22, 2019 at the invitation of the International Road Federation.
Themed “Building the Transport Infrastructure of Tomorrow”, the IRF Global R2T Conference & Exhibition will feature more than 150 internationally recognised speakers from over 40 countries sharing insights on topics ranging from innovative road construction techniques to preparing networks for connected and autonomous vehicles. With a specific focus on innovation and the future, the main conference themes and panels will focus on how to utilise new technologies and innovative practices in order to build and maintain more efficient transportation infrastructure & systems.
“We have dubbed this event Roads to Tomorrow, or R2T for short, because, as an industry, we understand the importance of setting a long term agenda for our research activities and capital investments” noted IRF President & CEO C. Patrick Sankey. “With rapidly changing societal aspirations, we will only be successful in our efforts to build tomorrow’s transportation infrastructure and mobility services by embracing the positive values of leadership and innovation”.
The Conference’s international scientific committee has selected 10 tracks for inclusion in the international call for abstracts, with a focus on applied knowledge and solutions capable of meeting society’s needs for safer, smarter and more resilient road infrastructure. Authors are invited to submit their abstracts by March 15 at www.irf.global. There is no cost to submit an abstract.
