Communication Associate: Public Relations | Lori Melton | lmelton@d.umn.edu | (218) 726-8830
March 1, 2013 Eil Kwon | Director, NATSRL | 218 726-6452 | eilkwon@d.umn.edu
Jill Bergman | Administrator, Civil Engineering | 218 726-6444 | jbergma1@d.umn.edu
Cheryl Reitan | Associate Director of External Affairs | 218 726-8996 | creitan@d.umn.edu
UMD Presents 2013 James Oberstar Transportation Forum on March 13
DULUTH, MN -- The 2013 James Oberstar Forum: "21st Century Transportation Systems: Challenges and Opportunities for Academia" will be held on Wednesday March 13 at 2 pm in Montague Hall 70, on the University of Minnesota Duluth campus. The forum features four panel members including James Oberstar, former U.S. congressman who made contributions to advancing U.S transportation infrastructure and setting transportation policy. Oberstar will speak on Future Transportation Systems and Challenges.
The four additional panel members are: David Scott, associate administrator, FHWA, Minnesota Division, speaking on Contributions of Transportation Research and Development to U.S. Competitiveness; Nick Thompson, division director, MnDOT, speaking on Minnesota Transportation Systems — Future Vision and Challenges; James Foldesi, county engineer, St. Louis County, speaking on Challenges in County Transportation Systems; and James Sharrow, facilities manager, Duluth Seaway Port Authority, speaking on Research Opportunities for Shipping on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway.
The panel will address issues with the current U.S. transportation system. It also will cover the challenges and opportunities for university faculty to contribute to the development of efficient and safe future transportation systems at the local and national level.
This event is sponsored by the UMD Chancellor's Office, Northland Advanced Transportation System Research Laboratory (NATSRL), and the Great Lakes Maritime Research Institute (GLMRI). The event is open to the public.
About Oberstar
This forum is dedicated to James Oberstar, a member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, who represented Minnesota's Eighth Congressional District, covering northeastern Minnesota, from 1975 to 2011. He was chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee from 2007 to 2011. In 2011, a Great Lakes ore boat that transports taconite from Duluth, Silver Bay, and Marquette to steel mills near Detroit and Chicago was named after him.
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