It gives me immense pleasure to serve our region as the director of the Southern Plains Transportation Center. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, “our infrastructure is failing to keep up with growing transportation needs to maintain economic strength and compete in a global market.” At the same time, natural hazards and environmental stressors in Region 6 include flooding, freeze-thaw cycles, hurricanes, extreme temperatures, wind, and rainfall are impacting the durability and service life of the aging transportation infrastructure at an unprecedented rate, with disproportionate effects in tribal and rural communities. Between 2012 and 2021, Region 6 states spent $25B annually to address the impacts of natural hazards and extreme environmental conditions. With five of the nation’s top seven cargo ports located on Region 6 coasts and multiple significant highway corridors in the region, such events threaten economic growth and safety and trigger disruption of the supply-chain.

Consequently, Enhancing Economic Prosperity and Safety through Durable and Resilient Transportation and Freight Infrastructure is the primary focus of SPTC’s research, education, and workforce enhancement goals. SPTC’s work program assesses and mitigates the vulnerability of transportation infrastructure through innovative research, effective implementation, a trained workforce, strong leadership, and well-organized programs. Improving the resilience of at-risk infrastructure enhances economic competitiveness and safety. With a strong consortium distributed throughout Region 6 and a stakeholder-driven work program, SPTC will develop breakthrough technologies, tools, and methods, and implement them rapidly.

SPTC will purposely engage in a public-private partnership to maximize the impact of USDOT investment.  We are excited about creating opportunities for collaborations that will cross state and institutional borders, resulting in a synergy of ideas. We look forward to fostering future engineers, scientists, and others who will continue the good work we began at SPTC. We are confident the problems our experienced faculty, students, and researchers solve here will have a lasting impact in Region 6 and in the nation.