Diana Furchtgott-Roth
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology (OST-R)
U.S. Department of Transportation

Diana Furchtgott-Roth is the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology (OST-R). She seeks to ensure that research, development and technology activities and budgets across the Department are fully aligned with the Department’s strategic goals and key areas of interest, and that Departmental statistics are reliable and of the highest quality. Ms. Furchtgott-Roth focuses on the deployment of innovation in America’s transportation system, with the goal of lowering barriers in the development of new technology.

Prior to joining DOT, she was Acting Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy at the U.S. Department of Treasury. She has been a senior fellow and director of Economics21 at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research and an adjunct professor of economics at The George Washington University. She previously served as Chief Economist of the U.S. Department of Labor; Chief of Staff of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers; Deputy Executive Director of the Domestic Policy Council; and Junior Staff Economist at the Council of Economic Advisers. Ms. Furchtgott-Roth is the author of five books and was a columnist for MarketWatch.com and Tax Notes. She received her BA in economics from Swarthmore College and her M.Phil. in economics from Oxford University.

 

Atorod Azizinamini, Ph.D., P.E.
Robotics and Automation: International Perspective
Vasant Surti Professor of Civil Engineering; Director of Moss School of Construction and Sustainability; Director of ABC-UTC; Director of Preeminent Institute for Resilient and Sustainable Coastal Infrastructure
Florida International University

Dr. Atorod Azizinamini, is the Vasant Surti Professor of Civil Engineering. He is also the Director of Moss School of Construction and Sustainability; Director of ABC-UTC; Director of Preeminent Institute for Resilient and Sustainable Coastal Infrastructure and the Director of Accelerated Bridge Construction University Transportation Center at Florida International University.  He has led several major multi-disciplinary bridge engineering related initiatives. He is a founder of two major transportation field organizations: the National Bridge Research Organization at University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the Center for Accelerated Bridge Construction at Florida International University.

He has provided significant service and contributions to the field of bridge engineering. As chairman of ASCE Bridge Technical Administrative Committee (Bridge TAC), he had the responsibility of overseeing eight ASCE bridge committees. He helped to organize and chaired or Co-Chaired the FHWA Bridge Engineering conferences in 2010 (Orlando, FL), 2008 (Baltimore, MD), 2005 (San Diego, CA), 2004 (San Antonio, TX), 2002 (Salt Lake City, UT), and 2000 (Baltimore, MD).

He holds several patents in bridge engineering and developed and successfully assisted in the commercialization of Folded Plate Girder Technologies. He has received several noteworthy major competitive grants, including the $2M SHRP2 R19A project, which led to development of the first comprehensive document devoted to Service Life Design of Bridges. He has published more than 200 technical papers in the structural engineering and transportation fields and has taught more than 40 short courses on the design and construction of super- and sub-structures to practicing bridge professionals.

He has produced more than 50 graduate students at the M.S. and Ph.D. levels. He has received a number of awards and honors, including the 2011 AISC Special Achievement Award. In October of 2015, he was awarded 2015 White House Champion of Change: Transportation Innovator, in a ceremony held at White House.

 

Michael P. Culmo,P.E.
AASHTO LRFD Guide Specifications for ABC
Chief Technical Officer
CME Associates, Inc.

Michael P. Culmo, P.E. is a Bridge Engineer with over 35 years of experience in the design of steel, concrete, prestressed concrete and timber bridges.  He is the Chief Technology Officer at CME Associates, who is responsible for the development and deployment of new technologies in the transportation market.  He has special expertise is in the field of accelerated bridge construction technologies and constructability engineering.  He is the principal author of numerous publications in the field of Accelerated Bridge Construction including the 2018 AASHTO LRFD Guide Specifications for Accelerated Bridge Construction.  Mr. Culmo has served as an adjunct faculty member in the Civil Engineering Graduate school at the University of Connecticut and is the current Director of the Certificate Program in Bridge Engineering.  Mr. Culmo holds a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering and a Master’s degree in Structural Engineering, both from the University of Connecticut.  He is a licensed professional engineer.

Bruce Johnson, P.E.
Design of Bridges for Service Life and Upcoming AASHTO Guide
Oregon State Bridge Engineer and Vice Chair of AASHTO Committee on Bridges and Structures
Oregon Department of Transportation

Bruce Johnson is a Senior Project Manager at Otak in the Portland, OR – Vancouver WA area. Otak is a multi-disciplinary international firm of architects and engineers who embrace the principles of integrated design, an approach that helps create sustainable solutions for the built environment.

He was previously the State Bridge Engineer in Oregon from September 2004 to May 2019. He supervised 75 people in bridge design, standards, operations, inspection, major bridge maintenance, load rating, bridge management, and preservation. Prior to that, he was the Division Bridge Engineer, for Federal Highway Administration in Oregon from October 1988 to September 2004. He worked in various positions with FHWA in Oregon, Nevada, Kansas, Colorado, Indiana, and Iowa from 1975-1988. Bruce taught the NHI 2-week Bridge Inspection Course in 1997 – 2000.

Eugen Brühwiler,Ph.D.
European Experiences and Latest Development in Ultra High Performance Concrete (UHPC)
Professor and Structural Engineer
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland

Eugen Brühwiler is a Professor of structural engineering and Director of the Laboratory of Maintenance and Safety of existing Structures at EPFL. His teaching and research activities include modern methods of fatigue and safety assessment of existing bridges using data from monitoring as well as the use of UHPC (Ultra-High Performance Fiber Reinforced Cementitious Composites) for the rehabilitation and strengthening of bridges. As a consulting engineer, he is involved in numerous UHPC projects, mostly related to bridges and buildings, in Switzerland and in several countries worldwide. As an expert for the Swiss Government, he is also involved in the assessment and restoration of bridges and buildings of high cultural value.