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Volpe Journal Winter 2000

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The Volpe Center's Conference
Brings Together Transportation
and Technology Leaders to Lay
the Groundwork for the Future

Our transportation system moves. It transports people and goods, it shapes the way we live, and it drives our economy. It evolves and it changes too-not as an array of discrete elements, but as a system. And while our transportation system consists of an interconnected network of places and links and vehicles by which we travel, it is more than just the physical connection of road and rail; it embodies a network of people with many different roles, linked together. Engineers, researchers, planners, leaders, bus drivers, citizens-their interactions shape the system, its performance, and its evolution. Like an impulse through an electrical network, the spark of a creative idea can spread through this system and become real.

While innovation is the source of creative ideas, the process by which those ideas become a reality is far from automatic. Even though successful system advances start with the ideas of inventors and designers, there must be a spirit of innovation in a broad range of individuals and organizations. A diverse group of participants is needed to convert ideas and visions into a practical reality that meets the needs of individuals and society. The spirit of innovation drives others to recognize a great idea, reshape it as needed, forge partnerships, champion the idea against numerous obstacles, and bring it into being. In the right environment, innovation enables us to move forward into the future.

What is this spirit of innovation? How does it spread? Where is it alive in our age, and how can we foster it? These questions are at the heart of a conference recently organized by the Volpe Center at the request of Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater.

"The Spirit of Innovation in Transportation," hosted by the Center on June 24 and 25, brought together diverse members of the transportation and technology communities to consider the role of innovation in our world and to lay the groundwork for future advances in transportation technology. The high-profile conference was attended by Secretary of Transportation Rodney Slater, Secretary of Commerce William Daley, and White House Chief of Staff John Podesta. Other participants included more than 250 representatives from the Federal government, industry, state and local agencies, transportation providers, academic institutions, and foreign countries. This diverse mix of attendees participated in panel sessions and discussions that addressed emerging trends in transportation technologies and their future potential.

Underlying the conference was the understanding that real transportation advances require more than just innovations in science and engineering-they require receptivity, cooperation, and hard work among all members of the transportation network to ensure that the spark of a creative idea becomes a reality. Attendees looked beyond the knowledge that emerges from research to visualize an environment that fosters innovation and promotes the introduction of new technologies to address complex transportation challenges. The creative environment of the conference yielded specific ideas for action that will help the Nation take advantage of the opportunities that innovation presents.

Innovation "Enablers"

The conference covered six "essential enablers" of innovation, identified by the Council on Competitiveness: an educated population; investment in enabling research; partnerships among the public and private sectors; a strong manufacturing base; an encouraging legal and regulatory framework; and investment capital sufficient to finance the introduction of new technologies. Sessions on nanotechnology, cybertechnology, and advanced fuels were structured to provide a common knowledge base about the topic at hand and to promote thinking about concrete ways to foster innovation.

Because cooperation and partnerships are key elements of the spirit of innovation, the meeting provided an opportunity for exchange between leaders from all sectors of the transportation and technology communities. Session panelists included representatives from companies such as Hewlett-Packard, Boeing, and General Motors; academic institutions such as MIT and Stanford University; labor organizations; and local transportation agencies. Participants were encouraged to describe opportunities presented by new technology, the technical challenges that remain, and the logistical and institutional issues that will affect implementation. For their part, representatives from DOT, other Federal agencies, and the White House considered this information in the context of how to provide a better environment for innovation. As Secretary Slater noted during his opening remarks, the "top technology people" from his Department came to "listen to and learn from" representatives of industry and academia.

Secretary Slater Identifies the Challenge

While the conference explored many novel ideas, it remained grounded in the goal of meeting specific transportation challenges facing the Nation. As Secretary Slater has strongly noted, "the Department of Transportation is about more than just asphalt, concrete, and steel." It exists not simply to build roads and rails, but to build a transportation system that contributes to national well-being. To that end, the Department has established strategic goals in five areas central to the Department's mission: safety, national security, mobility, human and natural environment, and economic growth and trade. "The challenge to us at this conference," remarked Secretary Slater, "is to identify how technology can be deployed to meet these human concerns." After experts described the potential of new technologies, keynote addresses from Secretary Slater, Secretary of Commerce William Daley, and White House Chief of Staff John Podesta outlined established national transportation system goals and encouraged participants to aim for those objectives.

The conference initiated a strategy and framework for innovation to move technology out of the idea phase into the implementation phase. Over the two-day period there were many discussions, formal and informal, addressing the topic of how to create a nurturing environment where the spirit of innovation is manifested through great science and engineering, as well as through entrepreneurial ambition, educational opportunity, and enthusiastic implementation.

William M. Daley, Secretary of Commerce; Beverly A. Scott, General Manager Rhode Island Public Transit Authority; and John D. Podesta, White House Chief of Staff were featured speakers at the Volpe Center's Spirit of Innovation Conference.

A Basis for Discussion

The Volpe Center led the effort to make the conference instructive and productive. Analysts in the Center's Transportation Strategic Planning and Analysis Division developed a framework for discussion that focused on those areas with the greatest potential for advancement and change. In keeping with recent DOT strategies, the conference explored four major areas that merit national attention: cybertechnology, alternative fuels and vehicles, nanotechnology, and the education and training of the transportation workforce. These areas were addressed in four panel sessions at the conference. An introductory session entitled "Innovation: New Ways and Opportunities," set the tone for the meeting.

To promote a healthy dialog, members of the Center's technical staff prepared background papers for each session. The reports described emerging trends, outlined challenges and driving forces, and suggested ways to promote innovation. By looking toward the future and offering topics for discussion, the background materials provided a common understanding and a point of departure for discussions. They challenged conference participants to consider the potential of new technologies and the best means to foster development and implementation of their applications in transportation.

Each panel session generated specific "Ideas for Action" that reflect the understanding that advances do not occur in an isolated manner, but in conjunction with others. While some of these recommendations address technological issues, others are system-oriented approaches involving policy and education. The ideas also highlight the important partnership aspect of innovation, and identify ways to assign roles and share resources to promote innovation. Most importantly, the sessions generated consensus around common goals and objectives.

Opportunities to Listen and Learn

Innovation: New Ways and Opportunities

The first session at the conference explored the importance of innovation to the economic health of the United States and identified ways to maintain our competitive edge. John Yochelson of the Council on Competitiveness provided an overview, and panelists from United Technology Corporation, the Progressive Policy Institute, Delphi Automotive, the Defense Department, and MIT discussed the role of innovation in the "new economy" dominated by international and electronic commerce.

Panelists explored ways to maintain the Nation's competitive advantage through education, research, cooperation, and implementation. As reflected in the comments of MIT professor Maurice Homes, panelists stressed the importance of "learning faster than the rest of the world," through stronger math and science programs, and through opportunities for lifelong learning. The session also generated recommendations for revitalizing enabling research activities and for implementing new technologies effectively and cooperatively.

Cybertechnology

The cybertechnology session explored the possibilities of a class of technology that has already begun to have a dramatic influence on both vehicles and infrastructure. In the context of transportation, cybertechnology encompasses a spectrum of information and communication devices related to navigation, traffic management, engine performance, collision avoidance, and automated operation. Existing and potential technologies fall into two broad categories: autonomous applications that work independently of other units, and information systems that rely on communication among a network of facilities, vehicles, and users. Other aspects of information technology-such as applications that facilitate telecommuting or remote purchasing-are also affecting transportation demands and the way in which we satisfy them.

Panelists from the Computer Sciences Corporation, Boeing, Delphi Automotive, Stanford University, Motorola, the University of California, Hewlett Packard, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and the CSX Corporation discussed the spectrum of potential applications in transportation. While many such applications have been successfully applied to address local needs, panelists agreed that there is no consensus on how to apply new technologies to the national transportation system as a whole. The framework required for future advancement includes many elements: a consensus on goals; new standards for frequency allocations and data definitions; and an information infrastructure comprising both comprehensive data sets and physical facilities. While the Department must take the lead in areas such as goal-setting and frequency allocation, development of a consensus on how the system will evolve requires collaboration and information-sharing across a huge array of participants-manufacturers, service providers, users, state and local governments, and others in related fields.

Secretary Rodney Slater and Administrator Kelley Coyner check out a protoype electric bus at the Spirit of Innovation Conference.

Alternative Fuels and Vehicles

Alternative fuels and vehicles hold tremendous promise for achieving the strategic goals of security and environmental compatibility. The most promising new technologies include hybrid electric drivetrains; lighter, stronger materials; fuel cells; biomass-based fuels; and on-vehicle fuel processors. Current research activities in this area stem largely from concerns over the instability of foreign fuel supplies and the pressure to reduce carbon emissions in the face of potential global warming. Future concerns may include the ability of the U.S. auto industries to remain competitive as many developing nations pursue new fuel technologies as inexpensive alternatives to petroleum.

Panelists discussing alternative fuels and vehicles included representatives from Ford, General Motors, DBB Fuel Cells, Princeton, MIT, Dartmouth, and the Northeast Alternative Vehicle Coalition. One of the recommendations was to be "optimistic, realistic, and patient." As with cybertechnology, there is a long list of possible alternative technologies; decisions regarding these alternatives require a systemic, comprehensive analysis based on detailed considerations of all costs and impacts. The panel also recommended a stronger commitment to the basic research that will promote future innovations and increased efficiency. Finally, the panel agreed that compatibility is a major issue, and stressed that partnerships across sectors will yield the breakthroughs that will make alternative technologies feasible. Reflecting one perspective on the future of such alternative technologies, James Spearot of General Motors considered, "What will the dominant engine technology during the next century be? Only the marketplace can answer this question."

Nanotechnology

Nanotechnology was considered by many attendees to be the field with the greatest potential to revolutionize the way we move goods and people. Simply stated, nanotechnology is the process in which devices and materials are built at the level of atoms and molecules to take advantage of the novel properties and phenomena at that scale. Research focuses on three areas of study: the design of atomically engineered building blocks; the assembly of these building blocks into unique materials with tailored characteristics; and the assembly of those new materials into useful devices. While the science is still in its infancy, researchers have identified a host of potential transportation applications: lightweight materials; self-monitoring, self-repairing highway structures and airframes; autonomous, unmanned vehicles for defense and commercial uses; and carbon-based "nanotubes" that could serve as hydrogen supersponges in fuel cells.

The nanotechnology panel included representatives from Dow Chemical, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Sandia National Laboratory, Howard University, MIT, and the National Science Foundation. To encourage technology development the panel recommended the formation of partnerships and research networks that focus on both basic research and potential applications. Because the widespread application of nanotechnology may still be 20 to 30 years away, the panel stressed the need to take a long-term perspective, train a new generation of interdisciplinary researchers, and support research without anticipation of immediate returns.

Education and Training

Innovation requires educated and inspired people to engineer new systems, to implement them, and to operate and maintain them. The conference addressed this requirement through the final session entitled "Transportation Workforce for the 21st Century-a Challenge to Education." The rapid and constant change of the transportation system places continuing demands on all members of the workforce to adapt to new technologies, to communicate and work with colleagues worldwide, and to master the non-technical aspects of transportation.

The panel included representatives from the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority, the Transport Workers Union of America, Watson Wyatt, MIT, Universal Systems and Technology, Inc, the National Science Foundation, and NASA. Panelists focused on the idea that implementing technological approaches to transportation challenges requires addressing the non-technical aspects of the transportation system: organizational barriers, the workplace environment, and the way that the workforce is trained. The session also recognized the importance of basic education and of lifelong learning starting in grade school and continuing throughout one's career. Panelists provided ideas for the Department of Transportation's Garrett A. Morgan Transportation and Technology Futures Program, which fosters continued innovation by stimulating an interest in transportation among the next generation of researchers and decision-makers. "We have to go to the high schoolsand talk to the young people who want to achieve," said Sonny Hall of the Transport Workers Union, "Whet their appetites-find a way to talk to them."

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