MSU conference to welcome transportation researchers

Contact: James Logan

STARKVILLE, Miss.--Researchers and investigators will gather at Mississippi State later this month for the National Center for Intermodal Transportation for Economic Competitiveness Conference.

NCITEC promotes development of an efficient and lasting national intermodal transportation network.

The conference will be held Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 at the university's Colvard Student Union, and while late registration will be permitted, participants are encouraged to register by Thursday [Oct. 18] at www.ncitec.msstate.edu/register.

"The conference is open to anyone, not just those involved in transportation research," said Burak Eksioglu, NCITEC director. "We hope that people interested in intermodal transportation will show up, whether they're involved with the center or not. It's free; there is no registration fee."

MSU is the leading NCITEC institution. Other universities represented in the presentations will include Denver, Hampton, Louisiana at Lafayette, Louisiana State, Mississippi, and New Orleans.

Of the 28 projects to be presented, 10 are led by MSU faculty members.

Investigators researching how to streamline freight and passenger transportation modes into a unified system--also know as intermodal projects--will report their findings in a series of presentations related to education, workforce development and technology transfer.

"The goal of the conference is to bring academicians, practitioners and state officials together to see what kind of work the center is doing," said Eksioglu, MSU associate professor of industrial and systems engineering. "Hopefully that will lead to some collaborations."

In addition to presentations, other conference activities will include a visual display competition involving students working on transportation projects and an information session for all NCITEC investigators.

For more information about the conference or NCITEC, visit www.ncitec.msstate.edu.