Thinking Transportation: Engaging Conversations about Transportation Innovations

A big topic of conversation in our larger culture across business and government is the growth and impact of artificial intelligence. And that, too, we are in early days with many different assessments of prospects for the future and early signs of promise or worry. Today, we’re going to talk about artificial intelligence with TTI’s new AI research innovation leader, Ellis Giles, Ph.D.

The ships that bring the goods that you buy to store shelves don't sail themselves. Trained mariners man those vessels, and in times of war, mariners can also prove vital to supporting the U.S. miliary in moving men and materiel to the theater of war. Today, Allan interviews Captain Allan Post, who since 2019 had been deputy superintendent of the Texas A&M Maritime Academy at Texas A&M University-Galveston. He talks about how mariners are trained, the vibrant jobs industry his students find post-graduation and -licensure, and how the new training vessel TS Lone Star State will expand learning opportunities for mariner students in his program. | Learn More about the Texas A&M Maritime Academy

The successful conclusion to the Artemis II mission on April 10, 2026, ushered in a new era of enthusiasm for manned space flight. For NASA, the next steps in this incredible journey will include mankind's establishing permanent habitation on the moon and Mars. But a lot of work has to be done before those dreams can be fully realized. For example, what supporting infrastructure will be needed to underpin these future colonies, and how do we build it in airless, waterless environments? Our guests today include Dr. Nancy Currie-Gregg, former NASA astronaut and current director for the newly minted Texas A&M University Space Institute, and TTI Agency Director Greg Winfree. TTI is teaming with the A&M Space Institute to help Texas and the United States position themselves to advantage in the growing space economy. | Learn More about the Texas A&M Space Institute

Research promoting safety at rail grade crossings has saved lives by reducing collisions, the second-leading cause of rail-related fatalities in the United States. Trespassing by the public on railroad tracks is a particularly dangerous practice that has contributed to a recent upward trend in pedestrian fatalities. Today we talk to TTI's Jeff Warner, manager of the Institute's Multimodal Freight Program, about the various strategies to reduce collisions at grade crossings. Warner recently won the Hoy A. Richards Career Achievement Award at the National Rail Crossing Safety Conference.

When international crises occur, significant disruptions in the global supply chain can impact our daily lives in very real ways. Lately, for example, the conflict in the Middle East has been largely responsible for increasing gas prices at the pump because seaways like the Strait of Hormuz are the corridors through which much of the world's oil travels. In this episode, we visit again with Vince Mantero, TTI's director for the Institute's Center for Ports and Waterways, about how crises (manmade or otherwise) can impact shipping routes, energy flows, and operations at U.S. ports. | Meet Vince Mantero, TTI's Director for the Center for Ports and Waterways

TTI is approaching 25 years in researching and championing young driver safety through initiatives like the groundbreaking Teens in the Driver Seat program. Allan sits down with TTI's Lisa Minjares-Kyle and Stacey Tisdale, who lead the Institute's Youth Transportation Safety (YTS) Program, to talk about leveraging positive peer influence among teens to engender safer driving behaviors, as well as other proven strategies that have saved lives and prevented injuries. We look at the importance of brain development and decision making to the driving task, how private- and public-sector partners continue to support the YTS Program's efforts, and what new challenges young drivers might face in coming decades. | Discover more about TTI's Youth Transportation Safety Program

The Resilient Navigation and Timing (RNT) Foundation is a public benefit and scientific and educational charity, 501(c)3, organization. Its members advocate for hardening the Global Positioning System (GPS) of the United States, which is behind some international competitors' systems, including those of Russia and China. The foundation provides unbiased, objective advice to the public and national leaders and champions polices and systems aimed at protecting GPS satellites, signals, and users from interference. Today we talk to Dana A. Goward, president of the RNT Foundation and a retired U.S Coast Guard captain. Mr. Goward brings decades of first-hand experience with navigation issues and served for more than a decade as a member of the U.S. President’s National Space-based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Advisory Board. | Learn More about the RNT Foundation

When a new U.S. presidential administration is inaugurated, federal agencies experience changes in leadership and staff. Nicole Nason served as administrator of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) at the U.S. Department of Transportation during the first Trump Administration. She understands as well as anyone the challenges of pursuing policy priorities in transportation while navigating the often choppy waters of politics in Washington, D.C. Ms. Nason joins us today to discuss her passion for public safety inspired by her father, who was a motorcycle cop in New York State; reminisce with Allan about their time together as agency leaders in Washington; and urge others to pursue a life in public service. | View the United States Government Policy and Supporting Positions (Plum Book) mentioned in the episode

Tyler Duvall--currently CEO and co-founder of Cavnue, an infrastructure company dedicated to building safer, more efficient roadways while adapting today's transportation network to the next generation of vehicles--has spent most of his professional lifetime in transportation. Having served in both the public and private sectors, Mr. Duvall brings a unique expertise to solving challenges faced by all kinds of system users. He sits down with Allan to discuss his multifaceted career, as well as his take on the best approach to transforming the U.S. transportation system to meet the needs of the 21st century. | More on Transforming Roads Unleashing Smart Technologies (TRUST)

Established in 1995 by the Texas Legislature, TTI's Center for Ports and Waterways (CPW) provides valuable applied research and expertise to the Texas Marine Transportation System. Over the past 30 years, CPW's experts have helped public- and private-sector stakeholders improve the efficiency, safety, and cost-effectiveness of waterborne freight at all operational levels. Recently, TTI Senior Research Scientist Jim Kruse, who led the center for 23 years, announced his retirement from TTI. To succeed him as director, the Institute named Vince Mantero, formerly director of the Office of Ports and Waterways Planning in the U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration. Mantero brings to the job more than 25 years of experience in maritime and freight policy, planning and program management. Allan sits down with the CPW's captains, past and present, to discuss the transition, the importance of waterborne freight in the twenty-first century, and what lies ahead in the area of waterways research. | See the related story on the change in leadership