Leading transportation engineering and humanitarian logistics expert Jose Holguín-Veras will speak this week at the high-impact International Transport Forum in Leipzig, Germany.

Holguín-Veras, the William H. Hart Professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a member of the university’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, will speak as part of a presentation titled “Seamless Urban Freight Transport: The need for a new policy approach.”

In the presentation, Holguín-Veras and others will discuss how policymakers can better create regulations to balance the needs of drivers, business owners, and other stakeholders to optimize freight delivery and transportation in downtowns and city centers. The presentation is part of the International Transport Forum’s “ Seamless Transport: Making Connections” section.

A strategic think tank for transportation policy, the International Transport Forum is an intergovernmental organization with 53 member countries. It is a part of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Presenting with Holguín-Veras is transportation engineering expert Eiichi Taniguchi, professor at Kyoto University, whose research thrusts include the effects of e-commerce on urban freight transport, optimization of vehicle routing and scheduling using traffic information, and urban renewal using intelligent transport systems. The presentation is organized by logistics expert Michael Browne, professor at the University of Westminster, who has many studies investigating the interaction of the private and public sector in urban freight and service decision-making. Browne’s research interests include sustainable distribution and green logistics strategies, best practice in distribution in European cities, and potential energy savings from city logistics strategies.

Holguín-Veras is known as a global leader in the areas of freight demand modeling, transportation economics, and humanitarian logistics. He also studies behavior relating to sustainability policies and the impact of transportation on the environment. As part of his supply chain research, Holguín-Veras led the multidisciplinary teams that investigated the cause of logistical failures in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the catastrophic 2010 Haiti earthquake, and the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake in Japan. He is the director of the Center for Infrastructure, Transportation, and the Environment at Rensselaer, and is actively working to develop new theories and methods for expediting the flow of critical supplies to the site of extreme events.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) recognized Holguín-Veras in 2001 with a Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award. In 1996 he received the Milton Pikarsky Memorial Award from the Council of University Transportation Centers, and in 2001 was the recipient of a proclamation from the City Council of New York, honoring his research accomplishments and contributions to local communities.

Holguín-Veras is active in leadership positions at several key international research organizations. He is president-elect of the newly created Pan-American Association of Transportation Research, an elected member of the Council of the Association for European Transport, and a member of the board of directors of the Intelligent Transportation Society of New York. Holguín-Veras is a fellow of the International Road Federation (IRF), Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and the Organization of American States (OAS).

He served as conference chair of the 13th Pan-American Advanced Studies Institute on Transportation Sciences, as well as vice president for the Pan-American Conferences of Traffic and Transportation Engineering. He is a member of the board of directors of the University Transportation Research Center, Transportation Infrastructure Research Center, and the Community University Consortium for Regional Environmental Justice. Additionally, Holguín-Veras was appointed by former New York Governor David Paterson to serve on the New York State Thruway Authority Board. He is also a member of several journal editorial boards.

A native of the Dominican Republic, Holguín-Veras received his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo, his master’s degree in transportation from the Universidad Central de Venezuela, and his doctoral degree in transportation from the University of Texas at Austin.

For more information on Holguín-Veras and his research at Rensselaer, visit:

Humanitarian Logistics:

• From 9/11 to Fukushima: The Science of Donated Stuff
• Lessons From Haiti
• Japan: How To (and Not To) Help
• Researching Relief in Haiti

Transportation Engineering:

• New York City Department of Transportation Recognizes Project Led by Rensselaer Professor Jose Holguín-Veras
• Switching Gears to Greener Transportation
• Freight Management in Manhattan: Tax Incentives and High-Tech Tools for Night Owls

Administrative:

• Faculty Home Page
• Rensselaer Center for Infrastructure, Transportation, and the Environment
• Holguín-Veras Named William Howard Hart Professor at Rensselaer