Keynote Speakers
Day One Keynote
Dr. Cristina Olaverri Monreal
Full Professor, Head of Department Intelligent Transport Systems
cristina.olaverri-monreal@jku.at | www.jku.at/its
Cristina Olaverri-Monreal is a full professor and head of the Department Intelligent Transport Systems at the Johannes Kepler University Linz, in Austria. Prior to this position, she led diverse teams in the industry and in the academia in the US and in distinct countries in Europe.
She served as the president of the IEEE Intelligent Transportation Systems Society (IEEE ITSS) for the years 2022 and 2023. Presently, she holds the position of chair for the Technical Activities Committee (TAC) on Human Factors in Intelligent Transportation Systems and is the founder and chair of the Austrian IEEE ITSS chapter. She received her PhD from the Ludwig-Maximilians University (LMU) in Munich in cooperation with BMW. Her research aims at studying solutions for an efficient and effective transportation focusing on minimizing the barrier between users and road systems. To this end, she relies on the automation, wireless communication and sensing technologies that pertain to the field of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). Prof. Olaverri is a member of the EU-wide platform for coordinating open road tests (Cooperative, Connected and Automated Mobility (CCAM)) as well as a representative for the European technology platform ”Alliance for Logistics Innovation through Collaboration in Europe” (ALICE) for the ”Workgroup Road Safety” (WG4: EU-CCAM-WG-ROAD-SAFETY@ec.europa.eu). She is additionally a senior/associate editor and editorial board member of several journals in the field, including the IEEE ITS Transactions and IEEE ITS Magazine. Furthermore, she is an expert for the European Commission on ”Automated Road Transport” and consultant and project evaluator in the field of ICT and “Connected, Cooperative Autonomous Mobility Systems” for various EU and national agencies as well as organizations in Germany, Sweden, France, Ireland, etc. In 2017, she was the general chair of the “IEEE International Conference on Vehicles Electronics and Safety” (ICVES 2017). She was awarded the “IEEE Educational Activities Board Meritorious Achievement Award in Continuing Education” for her dedicated contribution to continuing education in the field of ITS. She has also been recently awarded with the prestigious 2023 IEEE MGA Diversity & Inclusion Award.
Title: Towards Carbon-Neutral and Eco-Friendly Mobility through Intelligent Transportation Systems
Abstract: Decisions concerning transport systems and infrastructure play a crucial role in shaping climate-neutral mobility. Intelligent vehicle technologies, utilizing sensors to gather information both externally and internally, aim to enhance road environment perception and reduce accidents, thereby contributing to carbon neutrality. Critical dimensions of these dynamic scenarios will be discussed during the conference with a specific focus on the environmental impact of these technologies.
Day Two Keynote
Marcia Pincus
ITS Joint Program Office, USDOT
Marcia Pincus is an expert in leading large, complex, innovative, and multidisciplinary transportation technology research programs with multimodal teams and non-traditional stakeholders. She brings over 20 years experience in the transportation technology industry and managing large government contracts with ceilings up to $200 million. She is a highly experienced international public speaker and facilitator with a proven ability to collaborate, build consensus, and inspire others across disciplines.
Title: A Fresh Look at ITS for the Environment: Reimagining Possibilities and Accelerating Deployment
Abstract: In the U.S., it seems that ITS technologies and applications, along with ITS-based operational strategies, that focus on environmental performance outcomes are not yet being deployed on a widespread basis. While there may be many reasons for this, various factors are now at play that offer up opportunities to address that “deployment gap”. This interactive discussion will (1) attempt to explore what might be done differently in the U.S. to possibly accelerate ITS deployment in this space, and (2) describe, and ask participants to think about, creative approaches that might be taken to facilitate practical, nearer-term deployment opportunities for ITS to help reduce surface transportation’s impact on the environment.