Contact: Bob Ratliff
Royce O. Bowden Jr. of Mississippi State University is helping lead a new effort to improve the efficiency and safety of the nation's transportation systems.
An associate professor of industrial engineering, he recently was named deputy director of the National Center for Intermodal Transportation, a partnership between MSU and the University of Denver funded, in part, by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Intermodal transportation research and education focuses on how individual transportation modes-railways, waterways, highways, and airways-can be connected, governed and managed as a seamless system.
"An example of intermodal transportation would be the commuter who drives a car to a train station, parks and takes the train the rest of the way to work because it is faster, safer and more economical than driving," Bowden said.
"The center's goal is to improve efficiency and safety of the national transportation system by identifying ways to better utilize the strengths of the individual modes of transportation," he added.
While the United States has one of the best transportation systems in the world, "each mode in the system evolved somewhat independently of, and often in fierce competition with, other modes," Bowden observed. "They are not very well connected."
A Picayune native who holds master's and doctoral degrees from MSU, Bowden said Mississippi offers "an ideal location" for research and education.
"All major modes of transportation are represented in the state, with waterways and ports on three sides, as well as interstate highways, railways, pipelines, and airports, he said.
At present, the center is developing a four-year strategic plan outlining collaborations between the engineering and scientific resources at Mississippi State and Denver's Intermodal Transportation Institute. The institute's Joseph Szyliowicz is center director.
Bowden said Mississippi businessman and former federal transportation official Gil Carmichael collaborated with the state's congressional delegation to forge the joint effort.
Head of the Federal Railroad Administration in the Bush administration and a recognized authority on transportation policy, Carmichael is chair of the board of directors for the Denver institute.
"Continued improvements to the intermodal system will increase its capacity and efficiency, cut costs to the consumer, enhance safety, conserve energy, and reduce pollution," Carmichael said.
He said MSU and Denver "are poised to become the national leaders" in research and in the training of students to design and manage the new systems.
"This is a new science and no other schools are teaching it," Carmichael said.
In praising the work of the congressional delegation, Carmichael gave special credit to U.S. Sens. Trent Lott and Thad Cochran and Rep. Chip Pickering for "recognizing the importance of transportation systems in the future and in communicating Mississippi State's expertise in the area of transportation issues."