Richard P. Braun Distinguished Service Award

The Richard P. Braun Distinguished Service Award is presented annually to a transportation professional for outstanding leadership in research and innovation. It is named after founding CTS director Richard Braun for his leadership and contribution to research, and as a champion of transportation innovation.

---

2013 Recipient

Nikolaos Papanikolopoulos, Distinguished McKnight University Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Minnesota, received the 2013 award. Papanikolopoulos is also the director of the Center for Distributed Robotics and the Security and Transportation Technology Research and Applications (SECTTRA) Program. He has authored or coauthored more than 300 journal and conference papers in areas including computer vision, sensors for transportation applications, robotics, and control.

Papanikolopoulos recounted how he came to the University of Minnesota in 1992 as a young assistant professor and soon turned to CTS for support. Since then he leveraged his computer vision research into a large operation with more than 30 students and $2.5 million in funding per year. "It wouldn't have happened if Dick hadn't started CTS a few decades back," he said. He also credited the collaboration, synergies, and support of students, faculty and research staff, and sponsors. "A big thank you for recognizing a wonderful journey," he said.

---

Past Recipients

2012

Robert C. Johns, Director, U.S. Department of Transportation's John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center

2011

David Levinson, Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engineering

2010

Lee Munnich, Director, State and Local Policy Program and the Center for Excellence in Rural Safety, Humphrey School of Public Affairs

2009

Gene Skok, Adjunct Professor, Department of Civil Engineering

2008

Randy Halvorson, Senior Associate, Cambridge Systematics

2007

Max Donath, Director, Intelligent Transportation Systems Institute

2006

Kathryn Swanson, Director, Department of Public Safety

2005

Catherine French, Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Metropolitan State University

2004

John S. Adams, Professor and Chair, Department of Geography; faculty, Humphrey School of Public Affairs

2003

Robert Benke, Principal engineer, Community Resource Partnerships

2002

Panos Michalopoulos, Professor, Department of Civil Engineering

2001

Barbara Lukermann, Senior fellow, Humphrey School of Public Affairs; senior fellow, Center for Urban andRegional Affairs

2000

David Kittelson, Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering: co-director, Center for Diesel Research

1999

James Denn, Former commissioner, Mn/DOT

1998

Fred Beier, Executive Committee chair

1997

Ted Galambos, Professor, Department of Civil Engineering

1996

Roger Appeldorn

1995

Miles Kersten, Professor, Department of Civil Engineering