Ines Aviles-Spadoni has been selected to co-chair Ahead of the Curve: Mastering the Management of Transportation Research, ABG10(1), which is a joint subcommittee of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) Conduct of Research (ABG10) and Education & Training (ABG20) committees.  Aviles-Spadoni, research coordinator at the Southeastern Transportation Research, Innovation, Development and Education Center (STRIDE), will join David Jared, PE, assistant state research engineer at the Georgia Department of Transportation, who will also serve as co-chair.

“It’s an honor to have been chosen to serve as co-chair of this committee along with David Jared,” Aviles-Spadoni said. “I look forward to working along with everyone affiliated with this committee to reach our goal of furthering the state of research management.”

Ahead of the Curve began as a Task Force of the ABG20 and ABG10 TRB committees with the purpose of creating a training program for research managers with state DOTs. The Task Force will continue this important work and extend this opportunity to research managers at universities, other government agencies, and the private sector. Already, a series of courses have been offered such as Introduction to Transportation Research Management, Making Research Relevant (Part 1 & 2), and Running the Transportation Research Program, which was offered in January 2017.

“Ahead of the Curve is an exciting partnership that has recently emerged in the U.S. transportation research community,” Jared said. “Its fourfold goal is to promote high-quality research programs that help meet organizational goals, to communicate the value of research more effectively, to raise the stature of transportation research and research management, and to provide professional community for transportation research professionals.”

Partners in the initiative include state DOT’s, academia, government agencies involved with transportation, and the private sector.