Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute

UGPTI Researchers Named to Transportation Research Board Committees

Posted: Aug 8, 2025

Several researchers with the Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute (UGPTI) at NDSU were recently appointed to standing committees within the Transportation Research Board (TRB).

TRB’s standing committees bring together volunteers from around the world who share interest and expertise in various aspects of transportation. Each committee proposes research, shares research findings, sponsors special activities, and develops workshops and sessions at the TRB Annual Meeting, which is the largest gathering of transportation researchers, practitioners, and decision makers in the world.

TRB recently realigned its committee structure and activities to stay aligned with its mission and responsibilities. TRB has indicated that the selection process was highly competitive, with many more expressions of interest than available spaces. “Given the competitiveness of the process, the number of appointments that UGPTI staff received is especially impressive,” UGPTI Director Denver Tolliver said.

  • Ron Hall, UGPTI’s Tribal Transportation Program manager and co-director of the Northern Tribal Technical Assistance Program, was named to the Standing Committee on Native Americans and Tribal Lands. That committee focuses on research and innovation related to the transportation needs of Native American communities and issues affecting Tribal lands. This includes roles and interactions of Tribal, federal, state, and local governments in the development, coordination, and implementation of transportation laws, policies, plans, programs, and projects. Hall will also serve as a paper review coordinator for the committee and will coordinate review of papers submitted for the TRB’s Annual Meeting in January.
  • Brenda Lantz, UGPTI’s associate director and director of its Commercial Vehicle Safety Center, was appointed a member of the Standing Committee on Truck and Bus Safety. That committee is concerned with research and innovation related to motor carrier safety in all its aspects, including human, roadway, vehicle, operational, organizational, and regulatory arenas.
  • Pan Lu, director of UGPTI’s Rural Innovations in Sustainable Economies Center – Freight, and professor of Transportation and Supply Chain in NDSU’s College of Business, was named to the Standing Committee on Rail Safety Management Systems. The committee focuses on research and innovation related to rail safety management systems and interactions with other transportation modes.
  • Kshitij Sharma, advanced research fellow with UGPTI’s Advanced Traffic Analysis Center, will serve on the Standing Committee on Traffic Monitoring. The committee is concerned with research and innovation related to monitoring transportation system activity using technologies and methods to measure the detection, classification, speed, and volume of vehicles and people.
  • Kim Vachal, director of UGPTI’s Rural Transportation Safety and Security Center, was appointed to the Standing Committee on Behavioral Safety. This committee focuses on research and innovation related to safe vehicle user behaviors. This includes enforcement, education, technology, and other approaches to mitigating risky behaviors.

TRB provides valuable resources and expertise to transportation professionals and policymakers worldwide. As part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, TRB mobilizes expertise, experience, and knowledge to anticipate and solve complex transportation-related challenges.