Dennis L. Christiansen
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Dr. Christiansen is agency director of the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI), a member of the Texas A&M University System. TTI is a state agency and the largest and most comprehensive higher education-affiliated transportation research center in the United States.
With extensive research experience in traffic operations, transportation planning, and transit planning, Dr. Christiansen is an international expert in high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes. He was one of the pioneers of the HOV lane concept in Houston and had significant involvement in its development and implementation. His research in HOV lanes has been utilized throughout the country and has made a significant impact on the effectiveness of the transportation system in Texas and elsewhere.
Dr. Christiansen has served as principal investigator on several major research projects that have been undertaken for a variety of sponsors, including the Federal Highway Administration, the Federal Transit Administration, the Texas Department of Transportation, and the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (Houston).
He has served as president of the International Institute of Transportation Engineers, the Council of University Transportation Centers, and the Research and Education Division of the American Road and Transportation Builders Association. From 1990 to 1992, Dr. Christiansen served as a visiting associate professor of civil engineering at Texas A&M University. He developed and taught a new graduate civil engineering course entitled Public Transportation Planning, Operation, and Management. He is the senior editor of two books and the author of numerous reports and publications about various facets of transportation and traffic engineering.
Dr. Christiansen has received numerous awards in the field of transportation, including the Transportation Research Board's Fred Burgraff Award and the S. S. Steinberg Award from the American Road and Transportation Builders Association. He also has received recognition from the International Institute of Transportation Engineers and the Texas Section of the Institute of Transportation Engineers, including Transportation Engineer of the Year in Texas. In 2004, he was selected as a Regents Fellow by the Texas A&M System Board of Regents. He has served as chairman of a variety of technical committees and is a frequent invited speaker at professional organization meetings.
Dr. Christiansen graduated from Northwestern University with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering. He received his master's and Ph.D. degrees in civil engineering from Texas A&M University. He is a registered professional engineer in the state of Texas.