       
"As a transit professional, I have found that there is no better way to keep up with ongoing changes in the state of the art and practice in transit than through active participation on TRB standing committees. Significant benefits have accrued to me and my agency through such participation and the resulting interchange of ideas and experiences with professionals from academe, private industry, and the public sector."
Thomas F. Larwin
General Manager
San Diego Metropolitan Transit Development Board
"Involvement in TRB committee activities offers an excellent opportunity to exchange information with one's peers, including the results of research that can help not only the individual, but also one's organization. Actively participating in TRB provides an outstanding opportunity to stay abreast of the rapidly changing dynamics of the tranportation field."
Ysela Llort
State Transportation Planner
Florida Department of Transportation
"Serving on TRB committees provides an opportunity to contribute to the advancement of the state of the art and the state of the practice in transportation research and policy. It has exposed me to a wide array of issues facing the transportation community. Participants have included practitioners (new and old), academics, and public officials. This broad representation gives transportation professionals a chance to contribute, to learn, to debate, and to display their passion for transportation."
Gloria Jeff
Deputy Administrator
Federal Highway Administration
"Get involved! TRB offers an excellent way to remain up to date and provides the opportunity to network with colleagues from universities, industry, and government. By serving as committee volunteers, graduate students and entering professionals contribute to the transportation profession while gaining valuable experience and contacts."
Lester A. Hoel
Hamilton Professor
Department of Civil Engineering
University of Virginia
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An Invitation to Become Involved in
TRB Committee Activities
TRB's standing committees provide an excellent
opportunity for you to network with others in your
field and stay current on emerging
issues while contributing to the
continuing evolution of transportation research and practice. Take a
look at the resources below for information on the benefits to
volunteers and their organizations, what standing committees do, and
how to become involved. Feel free to contact the relevant TRB staff
officer or committee chair if you have any questions (contact
information is available in the list of standing committees).
Benefits to
Volunteers and Their Organizations
TRB committee activities provide
significant benefits to volunteers, to their employers, and to the
transportation community. Committee friends and members network with
their colleagues, receiving valuable and timely information about
ongoing and recently completed research, new technologies, and
current practice. They also establish professional relationships
with individuals from other geographic areas and disciplines,
broadening their knowledge and perspectives. These relationships
often are maintained for years, providing opportunities to
informally share experiences, discuss mutual problems, and obtain
guidance.
An organization's support for an employee's
participation in TRB committee activities is directly rewarded
through early awareness of new research findings, as well as the
opportunity to encourage research addressing problems faced by the
employer. Transfer and implementation of new technologies in
government agencies and industry frequently result from
participation in TRB committee activities. Moreover, issues
identified through committee activities often lead to initiatives
that directly benefit transportation agencies. By supporting the
volunteer work of their staff on behalf of TRB, employers are able
to contribute to the broader transportation community by sharing
information on their organizations' research results and
practices.
What do Standing Committees Do?
TRB standing committees provide opportunities for
transportation researchers and practitioners to join together in the
following activities.
- Stimulating research by developing and publishing
research problem statements, issuing calls for papers, submitting
research problem statements to the NCHRP and TCRP, and defining
and publishing critical issues and research needs.
- Keeping the transportation community apprised of recent
and ongoing research through sessions at TRB Annual Meetings,
specialty conferences and workshops, committee meetings, informal
networking, responses to requests for information, and referrals
to other experts.
- Synthesizing and disseminating research results through
sponsorship of workshops and conferences, compilation of
bibliographies, and publication of compendiums of research papers
and state-of-the-art and state-of-the-practice reports.
- Reviewing and recommending research papers for
publication by TRB and for TRB-sponsored awards.
- Cosponsoring special activities and providing liaison
with other transportation-oriented agencies in the United States
and in other countries.
- Encouraging participation in TRB by students and
professionals entering the transportation field.
Committees use a variety of approaches in
conducting their activities.
- Committee meetings (held both at the TRB Annual Meeting
each January and at midyear)
- Dissemination of research findings and other
information through publications of conference proceedings,
research reports, manuals, newsletters, and directories in both
print and electronic media, including CD-ROM, the Internet,
audiotape, and videotape
- Telecommunications, including e-mail, teleconferencing,
committee Web sites, and bulletin boards
- Expanded networks, including joint TRB committee
activities, subcommittees, and committee "friends"
- Training workshops and tutorials
- Use of TRB's Transportation Research Information
Services (TRIS) bibliographic database to conduct information
searches
How to Become
Involved
To participate as
a volunteer in TRB committee activities, or learn more about the
work of the standing committees:
- Consult the list of TRB standing
committees, including the scope statement and member list for
each.
- Contact a TRB staff representative to learn of current
activities in which you may wish to participate.
- Volunteer to serve as a reviewer of research papers, to
work on a committee project, or to give a presentation or preside
at a session of the annual meeting or a specialty conference.
- Participate in committee meetings, which generally are
open to anyone who wishes to attend. Introduce yourself to the
chair and other committee members.
- Express your interest in joining as a formal member of
the commitee at the first opportunity. Each committee has a
required turnover of one-third of its members every 3 years, and
committee members may not continue for more than three consecutive
3-year terms if other individuals wish to join. As a result,
opportunities occur at least every 3 years (more often for many
committees).
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