Robert C. Johns
Director, Center for Transportation Studies
| Office: |
200 Transportation and Safety Building 511 Washington Ave SE Minneapolis, MN 55455 |
| Phone: | 612-625-9376 |
| E-mail: | johns003@cts.umn.edu |
Robert Johns was appointed director of the Center for Transportation Studies at the University of Minnesota in 2001. The Center works with over 70 faculty members and researchers at the University to carry out research programs that advance ideas and innovations in a variety of transportation-related topics. The Center also provides interdisciplinary education programs for transportation students and offers training and outreach programs for transportation professionals and policy leaders.
Since Johns became CTS director, the University’s total annual expenditures for transportation research, technology transfer, and outreach has grown from $8 million to $21 million, which has moved CTS to second place in the national ranking of university transportation centers. His establishment of the CTS Scholars program, which allows several faculty members and research staff to have joint appointments in CTS, has aided this growth. CTS Scholars work with CTS staff and with each other to pursue research and education opportunities.
This growth at CTS has included an increased emphasis on interdisciplinary research. Johns has led interdisciplinary teams of faculty and research staff for three major CTS studies: the Transportation and Regional Growth Study, the Access to Destinations Study, and the AIA Study on Transportation, Design, and Communities. He also led a study of the Mn/ROAD pavement research facility, which resulted in the formation of the Transportation Engineering and Road Research Alliance (TERRA). Johns also chairs the Board for the Intelligent Transportation Systems Institute, a federal university transportation center.
Nationally, Johns is active in the Transportation Research Board (TRB). He is chair of the TRB Policy and Organization Group Executive Board, which oversees activities by four sections and 30 committees that identify research needs and disseminate research results related to transportation policy and organizational issues. He also is a member of the Technical Activities Council. He formerly was section chair of the Management and Leadership committees and chair of the committee on Strategic Management, which helped establish an ongoing National Cooperative Highway Research Program on the strategic issues facing the leaders of state transportation departments.
In addition, Johns currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Council of University Transportation Centers and is a Board member of the Research and Education Division of the American Road and Transportation Builders Association. He previously was active in the Urban and Regional Information Systems Association and the Intelligent Transportation Society of America. In Minnesota, Johns serves on the Minnesota Guidestar Board of Directors and the Minnesota Freight Advisory Committee.
Before being appointed director, Johns was the CTS deputy director, associate director, and research coordinator. He also taught Project Management to undergraduate and graduate engineering students in the Civil Engineering Department. Prior to joining the University in 1988 to help founding director Richard Braun establish CTS, he worked in research and management positions for the Metropolitan Council of the Twin Cities Area; the Minnesota Department of Transportation; the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway; and the University of Iowa. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Engineering Operations from Iowa State University and a Master of Business Administration and a Master of Arts in English from the University of Iowa.