Meet The Board of Directors

The PacTrans Board of Directors (BOD) is composed of representatives from all five PacTrans consortium universities. The BOD meets on regular basis, both in person and remotely.

    • Wang
      Yinhai Wang, Ph.D.

      Director

      Office:
      (206) 616-2696
      yinhai@uw.edu

      Read his bio

       

      #Yinhai Wang, Ph.D.
      Director
      Office:
      (206) 616-2696
      yinhai@uw.edu

      Dr. Wang is a professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Washington. He serves as director for the Pacific Northwest Transportation Consortium (PacTrans), USDOT University Transportation Center for Federal Region 10. Dr. Wang’s active research fields include traffic sensing, e-science of transportation, traffic operations, accident modelling, traffic system control, and traffic simulation. He has over 100 academic publications and received one US patent and two provisional. He was the winner of the ASCE Journal of Transportation Engineering Best Paper Award for 2003.

      Dr. Wang serves as members of three TRB committees: Transportation Information Systems and Technology Committee (ABJ50), Freeway Operations Committee (AHB20), and Highway Capacity and Quality of Services Committee (AHB40) at the Transportation Research Board (TRB). He also chairs the research subcommittee for AHB40. Additionally, Dr. Wang is an elected member of the Board of Governors for the IEEE Intelligent Transportation Systems Society and plays an associate editor’s role for both the ASCE Journal of Transportation Engineering and Journal of Computing in Civil Engineering.

    • Boyle
      Linda Boyle, Ph.D.

      Associate Director of Research

      Office:
      (206) 685-7198
      linda@uw.edu

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      #Linda Boyle, Ph.D.
      Associate Director of Research
      Office:
      (206) 685-7198
      linda@uw.edu

      Linda Ng Boyle is an Associate Professor at the U. Washington with joint appointments in the Departments of Industrial and Systems Engineering, and Civil and Environmental Engineering. She was previously an Associate Professor at the University of Iowa, and a Senior Researcher at the US DOT-Volpe Center. Dr. Boyle’s research centers on quantifying driver behavior, evaluating crash countermeasures, crash and safety analysis, and statistical modeling. Prior to her career in academia, she was an Industrial Engineer at Boeing.

      She has a PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering, and MS in Inter-Engineering (Human Factors focus), both from the U. Washington, and a BS in Industrial Engineering (from the State University of New York at Buffalo). She is an associate editor for the journal Accident Analysis and Prevention, a recipient of the NSF Career Award, chair of the Transportation Research Board committee on Statistical Methodology, and one of the co-organizers for the International Driving Symposium on Human Factors in Driver Assessment, Training, and Vehicle Design.

    • Vernez-Moudon
      Anne Vernez-Moudon, Ph.D.

      Associate Dir. of Education, University of Washington

      Office:
      (206) 685-4057
      moudon@u.washington.edu

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      #Anne Vernez-Moudon, Ph.D.
      Associate Director of Education, University of Washington
      Office:
      (206) 685-4057
      moudon@u.washington.edu

      Dr. Moudon’s work focuses on urban form analysis, land monitoring, neighborhood and street design, and active transportation. She directs the Urban Form Lab with research supported by the U.S. and Washington State departments of Transportation and the National Institutes of Health.

    • Hallenbeck
      Mark Hallenbeck, M.S.

      Associate Director of Outreach, University of Washington

      Office:
      (206) 543-6261
      tracmark@u.washington.edu

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      #Mark Hallenbeck, M.S.
      Associate Director of Outreach, University of Washington
      Office:
      (206) 221-9290
      tracmark@u.washington.edu

      Mark Hallenbeck is the Director of the Washington State Transportation Center (TRAC) office located at the University of Washington. He has been with TRAC for 26 years, after working for four years as a consultant in Washington, D.C. Much of Mark’s research at TRAC involves the collection, use, summarization, and reporting of data that describe urban roadway performance and then the use of those statistics in making major transportation and land use investment decisions. He is currently working with the Washington State Department of Transportation to develop performance reporting systems that can report on changes in travel behavior caused by actions implemented in the name of “Smart Growth,” “VMT reduction,” or “CO2 emission reduction.”

    • Bell
      Chris A. Bell, Ph.D.

      Associate Director at Oregon State University

      Office:
      (541) 737-3794
      chris.a.bell@oregonstate.edu

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      #Chris A. Bell, Ph.D.
      Associate Director at Oregon State University
      Office:
      (541) 737-3794
      chris.a.bell@oregonstate.edu

      Dr. Chris Bell’s career in higher education spans almost 40 years. He is a Professor of Civil Engineering, Specializing in Highway and Transportation Engineering. His research interests are in Pavement Materials and Design, Pavement-Vehicle Interaction, Truck Operations and Truck Safety. He recently returned to the School of Civil and Construction Engineering at OSU in 2011 after completing a project in the Provost’s office for OSU’s accreditation. Before that, he served as the Director of Academic Programs for the INTO-OSU Center for two years, and, as an Associate Dean in the College of Engineering for 11 years. with responsibilities for research, graduate studies and external activities, including award programs, internships, industry relations and international programs. He grew up in England and received his BS and PhD degrees from the University of Nottingham in England. He served as a lecturer for four years at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland, before moving to Oregon State University in 1981.

      Dr. Bell is deeply committed to providing a quality educational experience to domestic and international students at Oregon State University. He is also committed to the goal of doubling the number of international students at Oregon State University. He has served as the Chief Marshal for OSU’s Commencement since 2005 and enjoys leading the procession of more than 3,000 graduates to Reser Stadium every June!

    • Connor
      Billy Connor

      Associate Director at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks

      Office:
      (907) 474-5552
      bgconnor@alaska.edu

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      #Billy Connor
      Associate Director at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks
      Office:
      (907) 474-5552
      bgconnor@alaska.edu

      AUTC Director Billy G. Connor, PE, retired from the Alaska DOT&PF after 30 years of service. He spent twenty years in AKDOT&PF’s research branch as a research engineer, ten of these as the Chief of Research for the department. His work covered a wide range of transportation activities including developing Alaska’s pavement design procedures, pavement management, maintenance and forensic engineering, permafrost, frost heave and thaw weakening research, hydraulic research including fish passage, rip rap design and development of Alaska’s Hydraulic Manual, and numerous other transportation related activities.

      He has chaired two TRB committees and been active in numerous other TRB committees and activities. He has also served on the AASHTO Research Advisory Committee, ASCE Technical Council of Cold Regions Engineering (currently chairing the Frost Action Committee), and numerous other state and national activities. Mr. Connor has also worked as a Construction Project Manager for AKDOT&PF, managing over $30 million per year.

    • Abdel
      Ahmed Abdel-Rahim, Ph.D.

      Associate Director at the University of Idaho

      Office:
      (208) 885-2957
      ahmed@uidaho.edu

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      AbdelAhmed Abdel-Rahim, Ph.D.
      Associate Director at the University of Idaho
      Office:
      (208) 885-2957
      ahmed@uidaho.edu

      Ahmed Abdel-Rahim has been appointed the Interim Director of the National Institute for Advanced Transportation Technology (NIATT). He is an associate professor in the Department of Civil Engineering and has been an active researcher with NIATT since he came to the University of Idaho in 2000.

      His research field is Transportation Engineering focusing on traffic operation and control, transportation system modeling, highway design and traffic safety, and most recently has emphasized security and surivability of transportation infrastructure. He was the recipient of the College of Engineering Outstanding Faculty award in 2010 and the University of Idaho Midcareer award in 2012.

    • Casavant
      Kenneth L. Casavant, Ph.D.

      Associate Director at Washington State University

      Office:
      (509) 335-1608
      casavantk@wsu.edu

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      #Kenneth L. Casavant, Ph.D.
      Associate Director at Washington State University
      Office:
      (509) 335-1608
      casavantk@wsu.edu

      Ken is a professor and transportation economist in the School of Economic Sciences at Washington State University (WSU). He is also Director of the Freight Policy Transportation Institute and Associate Director of PACTRANS. He has a BS and MS in Agricultural Economics from North Dakota State University and a PhD in Agricultural Economics from Washington State University. Ken served both as WSU’s interim Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and interim Vice Provost for Research. He has also chaired the WSU Faculty Senate.

      Author of three books, Ken teaches marketing, policy and management. His research areas are international trade, marketing, and transportation economics and policy. Ken won the Outstanding Teacher Award of the National Association of Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture and was Faculty of The Year at WSU. He also was designated Distinguished Scholar by the Western Agricultural Economics Association. Ken has been awarded research grants from the National Science Foundation and from the United States Departments of Transportation, Agriculture, and Commerce.

      Ken served on the National Economic Analysis Task Force of the National Research Council, on the Washington governor’s Joint Natural Resources Cabinet, and as board member of, among others, the Pacific Northwest Regional Economic Conference, the Washington State Air Transportation Commission, and the Pacific Northwest Power and Conservation Council. Ken is past president of the Western Agricultural Economics Association and the Agricultural Chapter of the Transportation Research forum. He has been a consultant to federal and state governments, to foreign governments including Zimbabwe, Australia, Portugal, New Zealand, and Bolivia, to commodity groups, law firms, and transportation companies. Ken also has served on his City Council and has been President of the Pullman Chamber of Commerce, among other community activities.

Former Board Members

Thanks to our former board members for their efforts and continued support of transportation research

    • McLean
      David McLean, Ph.D.

      University of Colorado, Dean of the College of Engineering

      Office:
      (509) 335-9578
      mclean@wsu.edu

      Read his bio

       

      #David McLean, Ph.D.
      Associate Director at Washington State University
      Office:
      (509) 335-9578
      mclean@wsu.edu

      David I. McLean, Ph.D., P.E., has been involved in civil engineering education and research for more than 25 years at Washington State University. Until recently, he served as the chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, which consists of 30 faculty, 7 staff, and approximately 600 undergraduate and 140 graduate students. Dr. McLean also served as the WSU director of the Transportation Research Center (TRAC), a tri-partner agreement between WSU, the University of Washington, and the Washington State Department of Transportation which was established to coordinate and leverage resources to support research addressing a broad range of transportation issues. Transportation research expenditures at WSU are around $2 million per year. Dr. McLean’s research interests include the seismic response and retrofitting of bridges and the use of composite materials in structures. He has involved more than 75 graduate students and nearly 100 undergraduate students in his research, many of whom are now working for structural consulting firms and public agencies across the US and at research laboratories and academic institutions. External funding for his research activities exceeds $12M. He is the author of more than 100 refereed papers, technical reports, monographs and book chapters. He has received numerous regional and national awards for his research, teaching, advising and consulting activities.
      As of July 1, 2013, Dr. McLean began his new role as the Dean of Colorado State University’s College of Engineering. Congratulations and best of Luck to Dr. McLean as he pursues this exciting opportunity!

       

       

    • bio_denbraven_210
      Karen R. Den Braven, Ph.D.

      South Carolina Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics, Director of Engineering Programs

      Office:
      (208) 885-7765
      kendb@uidaho.edu

      Read her bio

       

      bio_denbraven_97Karen R. Den Braven, Ph.D.
      Associate Director at University of Idaho
      Office:
      (208) 885-7765
      kdenb@uidaho.edu

      Dr. Karen Den Braven was Director of the National Institute for Advanced Transportation Technology (NIATT) at the University of Idaho as well as a professor of Mechanical Engineering. She was also the Director of the five university Tier 1 University Transportation Center TranLIVE: Transportation for Livability by Integrating Vehicles and the Environment. She is the author or co-author of 38 refereed publications, and has won awards from American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) for presentations at technical conferences. Her work focuses on clean small engine design and analysis, particularly for off-road vehicles in pristine environments. In addition to the Tier 1 center grant, she has been PI or co-PI on over $4 million in grants for clean engine and fuel research. She was the faculty advisor to the UI Clean Snowmobile Challenge (CSC) Team, which has won the national CSC championship three times in the past 10 years with their new engine design.

      Dr. Den Braven is a Fellow of ASME and has received a number of awards and held numerous leadership positions, including Chair of the Advanced Energy Systems Division, and Member-at-Large on the Energy Resources Board.

      Dr. Den Braven has retired from her position at the University of Idaho and accepted a position as the Director of Engineering programs for the South Carolina Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics. We thank her for all of her contributions and wish her the best of luck at her new job!