The Intelligent Transportation Society of America has announced its lineup of speakers and presenters for the 18th World Congress on Intelligent Transport Systems Oct. 16-20 in Orlando, Fla:
• Political and policy leaders: Florida Gov. Rick Scott, House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.), Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs, Florida DOT Secretary Ananth Prasad and other national and state policymakers;
• Federal transportation officials: U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, Deputy Secretary John Porcari, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Administrator David Strickland, National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Deborah Hersman, Research and Innovative Technology Acting Administrator Greg Winfree, and officials from the Federal Highway Administration, Federal Transit Administration and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration;
• Leading innovators: Ford Motor Co. Executive Chairman Bill Ford, General Motors Vice President of Global R&D Alan Taub, Alcatel Lucent Executive Vice President and President of the Americas Robert Vrij, and many other private sector innovators and job creators.
• Global leaders: Roundtable with more than 20 transport ministers and senior officials from around the world who will discuss how infrastructure and transportation innovation impacts the economy in a panel moderated by Chicago Transportation Commissioner Gabe Klein.
Key panels are focused on:
• “Safety and the Aging Population” with Hersman, Strickland, MIT AgeLab Director Joseph Coughlin, and Hartford Financial Services Group Executive Vice President Jonathan Bennett;
• “Reauthorization and the Future of Transportation” with former U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, former House T&I Chairman James Oberstar and current lawmakers, including House T&I Committee Members Randy Hultgren (R-Ill.) and Russ Carnahan (D-Mo.) who co-chairs the Congressional ITS Caucus;
• “ITS and Job Creation” with officials from IBM, Siemens AG, Alcatel-Lucent and ACS/Xerox, and representatives from countries including China, Korea, Japan, Sweden and the European Commission; and
• “Performance Measures” with senior officials from FedEx, AAA, Bipartisan Policy Center, Federal Highway Administration and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.
“We’re thrilled with the high-powered and dynamic lineup of speakers for this year’s World Congress,” says Scott Belcher, president and chief executive officer of ITS America. “From top to bottom, these men and women comprise one of the most well rounded groups of speakers and presenters that we’ve ever had. There truly will be something for everyone in the transportation industry.”
Scott will speak during the World Congress opening ceremony on Sunday evening, and Mica will speak during the first plenary session Monday morning, immediately following the Leaders in Transportation breakfast with Oberstar, Peters, Hultgren and Carnahan. Porcari and other senior U.S. DOT officials will headline a session on Tuesday morning, followed by a keynote address by LaHood on Wednesday. Ford will be the featured speaker during the World Congress closing ceremonies on Thursday.
In addition to the featured speakers, the World Congress will offer more than 300 sessions and provide attendees with an array of tailored session tracks focused on topics such as traffic congestion and management, highway and vehicle safety, next-generation traveler information and consumer applications, performance measurement, sustainability, mobility and operations, and many others.
Attendees also can peruse the 350,000-square-foot exhibit hall that will feature more than 200 companies displaying the latest innovations in the ITS industry. There also will be four technology showcases that will demonstrate the latest safety, mobility, sustainability and pricing technologies.
