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.

2024 Recipient

Jim Foldesi
Jim Foldesi

This year's award was presented to Jim Foldesi, public works director/highway engineer for St. Louis County.

Foldesi has been with the county in various engineering roles since 1992, and he has also served as past chair and current member of the University of Minnesota Duluth Civil Engineering Industry Advisory Board. He is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, National Association of County Engineers, and Minnesota County Engineers Association (MCEA), and he is the current chair of MCEA’s environmental committee. Foldesi is also past chair of the Minnesota Local Road Research Board and served for eight years, ending in 2023.

Past Recipients

2023

Thomas Fisher, Director and Professor, Minnesota Design Center, College of Design, University of Minnesota

2022

Laurie McGinnis, Former Director, Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota

2021

John Levin, Director of Strategic Initiatives, Metro Transit

2020

Carol Shield, College of Science and Engineering Distinguished Professor, Department of Civil, Environmental and Geo- Engineering, University of Minnesota

2019

Gary Davis, Professor, Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geo- Engineering, University of Minnesota

2018

Greg Lindsey, Professor, Humphrey School of Public Affairs

2017

Mary Vogel, Co-director, Center for Changing Landscapes, University of Minnesota

2016

John Gulliver, Professor, Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geo- Engineering, University of Minnesota

2015

Timothy Henkel, Assistant Commissioner and Director of the Modal Planning and Program Management Division, Minnesota Department of Transportation

2014

Yingling Fan, McKnight Land-Grant Assistant Professor, Humphrey School of Public Affairs

2013

Nikolaos Papanikolopoulos, Distinguished McKnight University Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering

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