NEXTRANS Center Inaugural Summit

Exploring Partnerships for Innovative Transportation and Logistics Solutions

Inaugural Summit

Purdue University
West Lafayette, Indiana
Monday, May 5, 2008

Invitation and Overview

NEXTRANS, the USDOT Region V Regional University Transportation Center, located at Purdue University, cordially invites you to its inaugural Summit.

The day long Summit will bring together a broad range of high-level stakeholders in the Federal, State and Local Governments, Industry, University and the Non-profit sectors in a series of events to share the NEXTRANS Center’s mission, vision and goals. They will explore mechanisms for collaboration and partnerships for innovative and integrated solutions for current and emerging challenges in the transportation and logistics domains.

The Summit will provide an opportunity to showcase the collective expertise of the partner institutions and discuss how to ensure that activities and goals of the new Center are synergistic with regional and national needs.

• The morning plenary session will focus on Integrated and Innovative Solutions to Address Transportation Challenges from the perspectives of the NEXTRANS Center, Federal Government and the Transportation Industry.
• The networking session will feature student poster presentations and exhibition booths from NEXTRANS institutional partners and transportation and logistics firms.
• The morning panel Discussion will feature a dialogue involving the state DOTs in federal region V focusing on regional issues involving Transportation, Logistics, and Economic Development.
• The afternoon parallel sessions will feature representatives from government-industry-academia who will discuss holistic solutions for addressing the issues of mobility, safety, and infrastructure addition, maintenance and renewal by leveraging technology, financing and public-private partnerships.

Invited guests include state DOT Chiefs from Federal Region V, representatives from several USDOT agencies, high-level officials from the partner universities, other University Transportation Centers, local and regional public transportation agencies, auto and ancillary manufacturers, freight carriers, firms in transportation infrastructure and services, supply-chain firms, think-tanks, and professional transportation/logistics associations.

Paul Brubaker, the Administrator of USDOT Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), Karl Browning, the Commissioner of Transportation for the State of Indiana, and Dr. C. Michael Walton, immediate past Chairman of the American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) are among those who have graciously accepted our invitation to attend the Summit. Victor Lechtenberg, Purdue University's Interim Provost and Vice Provost for Engagement, will be the luncheon speaker.