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The Gates Are Open: Operational Technology and Control System Security for Federal Facilities: Proceedings of a Federal Facilities Council Workshop
by Federal Facilities CouncilFederal facilities are increasingly complex and sophisticated systems of systems, with automated systems tied together through operational technology (OT) networks monitoring and controlling lighting and environmental control systems (CS), among many others. Federal agencies have built virtual fortresses around their information technology (IT) networks, including connected CS and OT networks, yet key vulnerabilities can allow bad actors to tunnel through the embedded layers of protection, interfere with facility operation and control, and gain direct passages into IT networks, bypassing their elaborate protections. On July 9, 2024, the National Academies' Federal Facilities Council convened a workshop to discuss the security of CS and OT networks. Workshop panelists explored the current threat environment; standards, policies, and guidance to protect OT and CS from malicious actors; and approaches that industry has taken to protect its OT and CS security.
Global Pathways to Net-Zero: Behavioral, Social, and Technological Research and Innovation Strategies for Transportation Decarbonization; Summary of the Seventh EU-U.S. Transportation Research Symposium: Proceedings of a Symposium
by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Transportation Research Board Consensus and Advisory Studies DivisionThe climate crisis poses a threat to life on the planet, with human health, ecosystem, and economic impacts globally. These impacts are projected to worsen in the future, as greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise and warming to date continues to produce adverse effects. For example, in 2022 alone, the United States experienced 18 separate billion-dollar weather and climate disasters, totaling $165.1 billion. With the transportation sector being a leading source of emissions, it is essential that immediate steps are taken to decarbonize transportation and to continue to invest in the research needed for our decarbonization commitments to be met. Global Pathways to Net-Zero: Behavioral, Social, and Technological Research and Innovation Strategies for Transportation Decarbonization: Summary of the Seventh EU-U.S. Transportation Research Symposium: Proceedings of a Symposium, from the Transportation Research Board, summarizes a symposium held June 11–12, 2024, in Washington, DC. It was hosted by the U.S. Department of Transportation, the European Commission, and TRB.
Mitigating Exposure to Airborne Diseases for Public Transportation Passengers and Employees: Executive Summary
by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Transportation Research Board National Cooperative Highway Research Program Transit Cooperative Research Program Anne Kerber Kevin Dover Jacob Swanson Brenda Lopez Heejung JungThe COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the critical need for advanced aircontrol measures to prevent the spread of airborne diseases. Public transportation vehicles, especially buses, can be high-risk environments for both passengers and employees. Mitigating Exposure to Airborne Diseases for Public Transportation Passengers and Employees: Executive Summary, a joint publication from TRB’s Transit Cooperative Research Program and National Cooperative Highway Research Program, aims to provide public transportation agencies with practical strategies to reduce the risk of airborne disease transmission, safeguarding the health and well-being of both employees and passengers. Supplemental to the report is TCRP Web-Only Document 78/NCHRP Web-Only Document 410: Protecting Transportation Employees and the Traveling Public from Airborne Diseases.
Protecting Transportation Employees and the Traveling Public from Airborne Diseases
by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Transportation Research Board National Cooperative Highway Research Program Transit Cooperative Research Program Anne Kerber Kevin Dover Jacob Swanson Brenda Lopez Heejung JungTCRP Web-Only Document 78/NCHRP Web-Only Document 410: Protecting Transportation Employees and the Traveling Public from Airborne Diseases, a joint publication from TRB’s Transit Cooperative Research Program and National Cooperative Highway Research Program, provides information regarding strategies that reduce exposure to airborne contagions by transportation employees and passengers on various modes, especially in buses. It is supplemental to Mitigating Exposure to Airborne Diseases for Public Transportation Passengers and Employees: Executive Summary.
Reducing Conflicts Between Turning Motor Vehicles and Bicycles: Decision Tool and Design Guidelines
by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Transportation Research Board National Cooperative Highway Research Program Helena Breuer Hisham Jashami David Hurwitz Jessica Schoner Rebecca Sanders Jason Anderson Sirisha Kothuri Nathan McNeil Chris Monsere Bill Schultheiss Jeremy Chrzan Christina FinkOne of the most common locations for fatal motor vehicle–bicyclist crashes is at intersections, which inherently have many conflicts related to turning. Reducing these conflicts is a key objective in improving intersection safety across all modes. Of particular concern for bicyclists’ safety at intersections are the conflicts between bicyclists travelling straight through the intersection and motor vehicle drivers making right turns and opposing left turns. NCHRP Research Report 1125: Reducing Conflicts Between Turning Motor Vehicles and Bicycles: Decision Tool and Design Guidelines, from TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program, presents a decision tool and design guidelines to help highway safety practitioners reduce turning motor vehicle–bicycle conflicts at intersections. Supplemental to the report are NCHRP WOD 408: Design Options to Reduce Conflicts Between Turning Motor Vehicles and Bicycles: Conduct of Research Report and an implementation memo.
Design Options to Reduce Conflicts Between Turning Motor Vehicles and Bicycles: Conduct of Research Report
by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Transportation Research Board National Cooperative Highway Research Program Helena Breuer Hisham Jashami David Hurwitz Jessica Schoner Rebecca Sanders Jason Anderson Sirisha Kothuri Nathan McNeil Chris Monsere Bill Schultheiss Jeremy Chrzan Christina FinkPlanners, engineers, and designers who are implementing bikeways need additional information about the safety performance of intersection treatments when assessing trade-offs and making design decisions. NCHRP Web-Only Document 408: Design Options to Reduce Conflicts Between Turning Motor Vehicles and Bicycles: Conduct of Research Report, from TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program, is supplemental to NCHRP Research Report 1125: Reducing Conflicts Between Turning Motor Vehicles and Bicycles: Decision Tool and Design Guidelines.
Effects of American Indian Treaties on Development and Operation of Transportation Facilities
by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Transportation Research Board National Cooperative Highway Research Program Thomas Sayre William Mumby Nicole Grigg Robert Randall Sara Dutschke Matthew AdamsTreaties with American Indian tribes played a central role in the development of the United States. While the “treaty era” of federal American Indian policy ended in the 1870s, the treaties themselves, the legal rights they convey, and the tribal governments entitled to exercise those rights all remain important and vital parts of the American legal landscape today. NCHRP Legal Research Digest 94: Effects of American Indian Treaties on Development and Operation of Transportation Facilities, from TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program, notes that treaty obligations cannot be altered, nor reservations diminished, without express congressional authorization. That principle, in turn, raises important questions explored in this digest about planning, development, and operation of transportation infrastructure that crosses lands reserved by treaty.
Electronic Surveillance of Railroad-Highway Crossings for Collision Avoidance: State of the Practice
by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Transportation Research Board Transit Cooperative Research Program Anurag Varma Ashish Varma Amiy VarmaTCRP Synthesis 177: Electronic Surveillance of Railroad-Highway Crossings for Collision Avoidance: State of the Practice, from TRB's Transit Cooperative Research Program, documents public transit agencies' current practices and lessons learned from rail service providers and others regarding the types, nature, implementations, successes, and failures of rail crossing electronic surveillance programs, particularly related to safety. This synthesis provides insights about the needs, decision criteria, measure of effectiveness, success factors, causes for failures, and selected implementations of rail crossing electronic surveillance programs, primarily for safety. The synthesis also discusses potential future advancements in rail crossing electronic surveillance.
Building Institutional Capacity for Engaged Research: Proceedings of a Workshop
by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education Board on Science EducationThe complex challenges facing society today call for new ways of doing research that bring researchers, policy makers, community leaders and members, industry stakeholders, and others together to identify evidence needs, contribute different kinds of knowledge and expertise, and use evidence to accomplish shared goals. Although momentum is building toward a research enterprise that more routinely enables and rewards this type of collaboration, the development of institutional capacities to support diverse forms of engaged research have not kept pace with the need for them. To explore opportunities for engaged and societally impactful scholarship, the Board on Science Education at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened a workshop, Building Institutional Capacity for Engaged Research in Washington, D.C, held online on June 13 and 14, 2024. A diverse set of leaders and stakeholders from across the research ecosystem shared actionable ideas and innovations that participants could use for building institutional capacity for engaged research in their own in their own institutions and settings and proposed concrete ideas for coordination and capacity building to advance engaged research. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussion of the workshop.
Parks and Other Recreational Uses on Airport Property
by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Transportation Research Board Airport Cooperative Research Program C. Daniel PratherAirports that have publicly accessible parks or other recreational use spaces on airport property have reported strengthening community relationships. ACRP Synthesis 137: Parks and Other Recreational Uses on Airport Property, from TRB's Airport Cooperative Research Program, describes the experiences of airports that provide airport property for publicly accessible parks and other recreational uses. This effort includes documenting the development, management, and operation of existing airport programs; the perceived benefits and risks of utilizing airport property for parks and recreational uses; and how these uses can support community goals.
Carbon Removal at Airports
by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Transportation Research Board Airport Cooperative Research Program Amy Swan Jane Zelikova Keith Paustian Zhe Huang Scott Cary Julia M. Nagy Sara Kaplan Katherine B. Preston Carly Shannon Candace Gosney Ben Pecheux Krista Robertson Jen Wolchansky Lauren Rasmussen Celeste Vandeventer Kate AndrusAirports are committing to achieve net-zero carbon emissions, some by as soon as 2050. Part of that commitment can include carbon dioxide removal (CDR), a segment of the industry that is rapidly changing; new technology, science, and best practices are constantly being discovered and published. With CDR pathways, there are many details, opportunities, constraints, and application guidelines for airports to consider. ACRP Research Report 270: Carbon Removal at Airports, from TRB’s Airport Cooperative Research Board, aims to define the terms related to CDR and potential applications and discusses the need for carbon reduction, the different pathways for removing carbon, a process for evaluating CDR, and airport-specific considerations.
Electricity System Operability and Reliability Under Increasing Complexity: Proceedings of a Workshop
by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences Board on Energy and Environmental SystemsThe U.S. electricity system, known collectively as “the grid,” is increasingly integrating a complex array of distributed energy resources (DERs) such as solar panels, wind turbines, batteries, and small-scale energy generators. By harnessing a diverse range of power sources and often generating energy close to the point of use rather than only in central power plants, DERs offer unprecedented flexibility in electricity generation and management. However, the imperative to maintain and improve the operational integrity of the grid as it takes on increasing quantities of DERs represents an emerging critical issue, particularly as demand for electricity enters a period of significant growth in many places across the United States. To consider the research needs, operational standards, regulatory approaches, market incentives, and other facets relevant to ensuring the operational integrity of the grid as it integrates complex distributed elements, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened a workshop on Electricity System Operability and Reliability under Increasing Complexity in Washington, DC, on June 17-18, 2024. The workshop convened representatives from government, industry, academia, and nongovernmental organizations to examine a variety of challenges that grid operators face in maintaining reliable and equitable electricity service, along with emerging technologies and capabilities that may impact grid operations and reliability.
Xavier Cortada: Climate Science Art
by Cultural Programs of the National Academy of SciencesThis catalog documents Xavier Cortada: Climate Science Art, an exhibition featuring Miami-based artist Xavier Cortada's climate change-focused artwork from Miami-Dade County, Florida, and the North and South Pole, spanning 2007 to the present. The exhibition was on view at the National Academy of Sciences from July 10 through December 31, 2024. Cortada initiated The Underwater, a community-led climate action project, to raise awareness about sea level rise. It uses interactive public art installations, including yard signs, murals, and sustainable concrete markers, to reveal South Florida's elevation, spark conversations, and spur civic engagement. The exhibition also featured earlier examples of Cortada's projects exploring ideas of global interconnectedness to raise awareness about the realities of climate change. The catalog features the transcript of an interview with Jennifer Jurado, chief resilience officer and deputy director of the Resilient Environment Department, Broward County, Florida, and an essay by xtine burrough, a media artist known for her work in digital poetry, social media interventions, artist books, and prints.
LTPP Data Analysis: Improving Use of FWD and Longitudinal Profile Measurements
by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Transportation Research Board National Cooperative Highway Research Program Steve M. Karamihas Xue Helen Yang Joshua Li Alberto Rocher Nick Weitzel Sarah Lopez Timin Punnackal Linda M. PiercePavement structures are designed, constructed, and maintained to support traffic loadings and to minimize the impact of climatic factors on pavement performance. However, variation in environmental factors such as surface temperature and moisture content can result in changes in pavement material properties and impact performance. For asphalt pavement layers, the most significant environmental factor influencing performance is temperature, and for jointed plain concrete pavements, it is temperature and moisture gradients between the top and the bottom of the slab. NCHRP Web-Only Document 416: LTPP Data Analysis: Improving Use of FWD and Longitudinal Profile Measurements, from TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program, presents the development of an approach to adjust falling weight deflectometer measurements to account for changes in temporal and diurnal temperature and moisture conditions for asphalt pavements and to evaluate longitudinal profile measurements to account for curl and warp of jointed plain concrete pavements.
Electric Vehicle Charging Stations at Airport Passenger Parking Facilities
by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Transportation Research Board Airport Cooperative Research Program Karim Lujan Harshit Shukla Jacqueline KuzioElectric vehicle (EV) sales in the United States have increased from around 100,000 in 2013 to more than one million in 2023. In turn, airports have installed charging stations to meet their customers? needs, prepare for expected demand, and comply with local ordinances. At least 93 out of the 145 hub airports are offering EV charging in their passenger parking facilities, up from 37 in 2014. ACRP Synthesis 138: Electric Vehicle Charging Stations at Airport Passenger Parking Facilities, from TRB’s Airport Cooperative Research Program, documents the current experience with EV charging at airports, specifically within passenger parking facilities. Although the use of EVs and the need for charging equipment exists across the airport, publicly accessible charging is a unique use case that presents a different set of challenges than either employee parking or fleet charging facilities.
Load Rating of Segmental Bridges
by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Transportation Research Board National Cooperative Highway Research Program Benjamin Morris Eddie He John Corven Bellikoth Bhaktha Furkan Cakmak Christopher Eamon Fatmir Menkulasi Serap Hanbay Chan Yang Patrick Lou Hani Nassif Robert Barnes Jacek Chmielewski Pablo Hurtado Andrzej Nowak Karina PopokA segmental bridge is constructed in short sections or segments that are either precast or cast-in-place concrete. Segmental bridges were first built in the United States in the 1970s and have proven to be an efficient design for long span bridges. NCHRP Research Report 1128: Load Rating of Segmental Bridges, from TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program, presents procedures for load rating of segmental bridges. The proposed recommendations were developed based on extensive review of the state of practice of the evaluation of segmental bridges and comprehensive analytical programs.
Knowledge Management at State Departments of Transportation: Research Roadmap
by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Transportation Research Board National Cooperative Highway Research Program Tanisha Hall Kristen Adams Connor Brown Frances D. HarrisonIn most state departments of transportation (DOTs), a significant portion of the workforce continues to be eligible for retirement, which could lead to a loss of institutional knowledge. Collaboration and interdisciplinary work are also increasing the need for effective, efficient, and timely knowledge transfer. State DOTs and other transportation agencies could benefit from knowledge management (KM) techniques and practices to help identify, capture, and transfer institutional knowledge and support continuous learning. KM continues to evolve, particularly in the understanding of factors such as cognitive science, learning cultures, and knowledge risk. NCHRP Research Report 1134: Knowledge Management at State Departments of Transportation: Research Roadmap, from TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program, presents a research roadmap for promoting KM among state DOTs and other transportation agencies. The roadmap consists of 11 research problem statements covering a broad set of research needs that agencies at different stages of readiness for conducting KM research can undertake to support their KM programs.
Tracking Safety Leading Indicators to Improve DOT Employee Safety Performance
by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Transportation Research Board National Cooperative Highway Research Program Roy E. Sturgill Jr. Gabriel B. DadiLagging indicators in occupational safety and health are required reporting figures that provide an industry-standard metric to measure the number of employees injured annually or impacted by a recordable injury. Recognizing the weaknesses of traditional lagging indicators to proactively manage occupational safety, many organizations and industries have emphasized safety leading indicators; that is, metrics to identify safety-related activities to consider before an incident occurs. NCHRP Synthesis 637: Tracking Safety Leading Indicators to Improve DOT Employee Safety Performance, from TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program, explores issues related to safety leading indicator practices used by state departments of transportation (DOTs) to track and prevent occupational injuries and other incidents. The synthesis also includes findings from a survey related to safety leading indicators of practices used by state DOTs.
Guide for Truck Parking Information Management Systems
by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Transportation Research Board National Cooperative Highway Research Program Ernie Perry Dan Murray Matt Junak Chuck Miller Gui Leao Chris Lindsey Peter RaffertyRecent studies of truck parking demand and capacity constraints reflect a consensus that truck parking demand exceeds the available supply in many public rest areas and private truck stops nationwide. NCHRP Research Report 1137: Guide for Truck Parking Information Management Systems, from TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program, provides information on these systems that help address the need to provide safer parking options for commercial vehicle operators and reduce the time they take to search for parking through the collection and dissemination of real-time parking availability using a variety of technologies. Supplemental to the report is NCHRP Web-Only Document 415: Developing a Guide for Truck Parking Information Management Systems.
Developing a Guide for Truck Parking Information Management Systems
by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Transportation Research Board National Cooperative Highway Research Program Ernie Perry Dan Murray Matt Junak Chuck Miller Gui Leao Chris Lindsey Peter RaffertySafe and efficient freight movement depends on sufficient and strategically located truck parking. Federal hours of service regulations require drivers to take breaks at defined intervals, leading to a search for parking ahead of their allowable drive time expires or while staging for their pick-up and delivery slots. This results in lost productivity, higher shipping costs, safety and environmental impacts of circulating trucks, and increased congestion. NCHRP Web-Only Document 415: Developing a Guide for Truck Parking Information Management Systems, from TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program, is supplemental to NCHRP Research Report 1137: Guide for Truck Parking Information Management Systems.
Communicating a Balanced Look at Local Airport Activity and Climate Change
by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Transportation Research Board Airport Cooperative Research Program Katie Franco Rosemary Barnes Dirk Singer David Weingart Frank BerardinoAs communities become more socially and environmentally conscious, there is growing awareness of some of the adverse impacts of aviation activity, including its contribution to climate change and the resulting social pressure to sometimes discourage air travel. ACRP Research Report 277: Communicating a Balanced Look at Local Airport Activity and Climate Change, from TRB’s Airport Cooperative Research Program, is a guide for airport practitioners to understand the relationships among their airport’s activity, economic benefits, and climate change. The guide offers rules of thumb to estimate these changes and effectively communication strategies that directly address the most common community concerns.
Airfield Vehicle Service Road Design and Operations
by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Transportation Research Board Airport Cooperative Research Program Mark RichterIndustry guidance on the planning, operation, and design of airfield vehicle service roads (VSRs) is limited and dispersed across multiple documents. For that reason, VSR systems vary across the industry and are usually influenced by an airport’s unique operational demands, vehicle types, airfield and facility configurations, and other airport-specific characteristics. ACRP Synthesis 139: Airfield Vehicle Service Road Design and Operations, from TRB’s Airport Cooperative Research Program, describes planning, design, and operations for airfield VSR systems, including operations on apron, non-movement, and movement areas. The synthesis considers VSR issues such as maintaining the road, driver’s training, safety concerns, and operational challenges of VSR layouts.
Prevention and Mitigation of Bridge and Tunnel Strikes
by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Transportation Research Board National Cooperative Highway Research Program Neil Janes Hannah Silber Dan D'Angelo Jason J. Bittner Sam Arnold Bob Scopatz Frank Gross Mohammad Wael Amer Andrew Graettinger Habib Tabatabai Yang Li Xiao QinThere has been an increase in bridge and tunnel strikes in the United States, presenting significant hazards to both the vehicles involved and the structural integrity of bridges and tunnels. Nationally, there are over 15,000 bridge strikes annually, costing millions of dollars in repairs and posing serious safety risks. The pressing need for a comprehensive solution is evident. NCHRP Web-Only Document 411: Prevention and Mitigation of Bridge and Tunnel Strikes, from TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program, is supplemental to NCHRP Research Report 1132: Bridge and Tunnel Strikes: A Guide for Prevention and Mitigation.
Bridge and Tunnel Strikes: A Guide for Prevention and Mitigation
by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Transportation Research Board National Cooperative Highway Research Program Neil Janes Hannah Silber Dan D’Angelo Jason J. Bittner Sam Arnold Bob Scopatz Frank Gross Mohammad Wael Amer Andrew Graettinger Habib Tabatabai Yang Li Xiao Qin“Bridge and tunnel strikes inflict serious damage to vehicles, highway bridges, and tunnels; cause injuries and fatalities; and impose detours and costly delays on highway users. Attempts by state departments of transportation (DOTs) and other bridge and tunnel owners to prevent bridge and tunnel strikes include signing, lighting, height detection systems, and actuated warning devices. NCHRP Research Report 1132: Bridge and Tunnel Strikes: A Guide for Prevention and Mitigation, from TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program, presents state-of-the-art information to assist state DOTs in the prevention and mitigation of bridge and tunnel strikes by overheight motor vehicles. Supplemental to the report is NCHRP Web-Only Report 411: Prevention and Mitigation of Bridge and Tunnel Strikes.”
Implementing Data Governance at Transportation Agencies: Volume 1: Implementation Guide
by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Transportation Research Board National Cooperative Highway Research Program Llc Anything Awesome Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. Spy Pond Partners, LLCAs of 2023, two-thirds of the 51 state departments of transportation (DOTs) had established some form of agency-level data governance or were actively exploring setting up data governance in their agencies.; NCHRP Web-Only Document 419: Implementing Data Governance at Transportation Agencies, Volume 1: Implementation Guide, from TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program, draws upon lessons learned and successful practices of these early adopters.