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Plenary Session
Tuesday, January 26, 2010 Decades of progress in engineering and innovation have lead to landmark technologies like catalytic converters and air bags that are the foundation of the cleaner and safer vehicles on the market today. Tomorrows vehicles and the transportation system they use must expand on the record of success by meeting broader goals of sustainability and reducing greenhouse gas emissions while at the same time improving safety and environmental quality. As policymakers address future climate change and transportation policy, the opening plenary session will feature a brief look back at the early environmental and safety milestones and advances along with the role of government agencies. This diverse panel of stakeholders will explore the future vehicles, their safety systems, powertrain and fuel options. Organizers: Welcome: Panelists
Representing the common-sense, Midwestern values of his Michigan district for the last 22 years, Fred Upton is one of the most active members of Congress working to ensure our nation is on a path toward a smaller, more efficient, more effective federal government. A budget hawk, Fred honed his fiscally conservative credentials while serving in President Ronald Reagan's Office of Management and Budget prior to his election to Congress in 1986. Fred has a reputation for getting things done in Washington and at home in southwest Michigan. The Dowagiac Daily News calls Fred a "breath of fresh air in polarized Washington" who "keeps company at the highest levels of the federal government, but he never forgets where he comes from." Fred's hometown paper, The Herald Palladium, calls Fred an "engaged, positive representative" who has "effectively pulled the levers of government that have allowed key infrastructure projects to move forward." In the House of Representatives, Fred is a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. He currently serves as the top Republican of the powerful Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality, a critical position as the nation seeks to reduce its dependence on Mideast oil through a greater emphasis on domestic exploration, the advancement of renewable sources of energy like wind and solar, the promotion of emissions-free nuclear power and increased conservation through advanced technologies. Fred also plays an active role on the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, a subcommittee he chaired in the last Congress, which has jurisdiction over newly emerging high-tech issues such as telemedicine, broadband deployment, and the wiring of America's classrooms for Internet technology. As chairman, Fred authored the law that created a billion dollar program to ensure our first responders can communicate with one another during times of emergency - a top priority of the 9/11 Commission. Fred and his wife Amey have two children, a son in high school and a daughter in college.
An acknowledged expert in public policy and a passionate spokesman for American innovation, Dave McCurdy is consistently listed as one of the most influential association executives and policy advocates in publications such as Washingtonian and The Hill. Mr. McCurdy joined the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers as President and CEO in February 2007. The Alliance is a trade association of eleven car and light truck manufacturers including BMW Group, Chrysler Group LLC, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Jaguar Land Rover, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz USA, Mitsubishi Motors, Porsche, Toyota and Volkswagen Group of America. Mr. McCurdy came to the Alliance after serving as President and CEO of the Electronics Industry Alliance (EIA) for eight years. As President, he helped promote the market development and competitiveness of the U.S. high-tech industry through domestic and international policy efforts for EIA's nearly 1,300 member companies. In April of 2001, Mr. McCurdy co-founded the Internet Security Alliance as a non-profit collaboration between EIA and Carnegie Mellon University CyLab to enhance cyber security. Prior to leading the EIA, Mr. McCurdy had a distinguished career in the United States House of Representatives, and as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the McCurdy Group, L.L.C., a successful business consulting and investment practice. Mr. McCurdy serves as President of OICA (The International Organization of Automobile Manufacturers), a global federation of national automobile trade associations based in Paris, France. He is a member of the Advisory Board of MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) and American Highway Users Alliance. Mr. McCurdy is Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, member of the Board of Advisors for the Center for Naval Analysis and member of the Council on Foreign Relations. In 2008, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates appointed Congressman McCurdy to the Defense Policy Board which provides the secretary with independent, informed advice and opinion concerning matters of defense policy. Mr. McCurdy was reappointed to the Defense Policy Board in 2009 by the Obama Administration. Congressman McCurdy spent 14 years (1981-1995) in the House of Representatives as the Member from the Fourth Congressional District of Oklahoma. He attained numerous leadership positions including: Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee; Chairman of the Military Installations and Facilities Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee; and Chairman of the Transportation Aviation and Materials Subcommittee of the Science and Space Committee. He was the youngest person in Congressional history to chair a full committee. He was also co-founder and national Chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council. As a House Member, Congressman McCurdy played a major role in enacting numerous important legislative initiatives including: 1988 National Superconductivity Competitiveness Act; the 1985 Goldwater-Nichols Act, which reorganized the Department of Defense; the Nunn-McCurdy Amendment in 1982, requiring Congressional notification of Department of Defense cost overruns of 15% or more; and the 1993 National Service Legislation, which originated in a bill introduced by Congressman McCurdy and Senator Nunn. A 1972 graduate of the University of Oklahoma, Mr. McCurdy received his J.D. in 1975 from Oklahoma's Law School. He studied international economics at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, as a Rotary International Graduate Fellow. Mr. McCurdy held a commission in the United States Air Force Reserve, attaining the rank of major and serving as a Judge Advocate General (JAG). His numerous prestigious awards and honors include the first recipient of the University of Oklahoma's Distinguished Service Award, named one of the Ten Outstanding Young Men in America, PTA's national award for child advocacy and the USO's award for his commitment to improving education. He was a four-time MVP of the Congressional Baseball Game and a member of Roll Call's Hall of Fame. Mr. McCurdy and his wife, Dr. Pam McCurdy, a physician specializing in child psychiatry, live in McLean, Va. They have three grown children, Josh, Cydney and Shannon and two sons-in-law.
Dr. Kanianthra retired from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in August 2008 after 32 years of Service. As a Senior Executive, he was the Senior Technical Advisor and an Associate Administrator for the Office of Vehicle Safety Research. He directed all of vehicle safety research related to crashworthiness, crash avoidance, driver-vehicle performance, tire research, driver distraction research and intelligent technologies research programs in the agency for nearly twenty years. He is now the President of Active Safety Engineering LLC, a company set up specifically for providing automobile safety consulting services to the industry and safety community. Dr. Kanianthra initiated many research activities including crash reconstruction, crash avoidance, and crashworthiness, and advanced safety technologies. In the mid 1970s during the early days of safety research, he was involved in the agency's Research Safety Vehicle (RSV) Program for the development, test, and evaluation of the RSVs and safety countermeasures. His chief accomplishments in research and in safety standards development in NHTSA were the safety standards for dynamic side impact protection, roof crush injury prevention, ejection mitigation, head injury protection, and frontal impact protection of occupants in light passenger vehicles. Dr. Kanianthra initiated, in the history of NHTSA, the most advanced technology research related to crash avoidance using the concept of providing drivers assistance to overcome human deficiencies in driving, to improve safety. He was also very active in the area of international harmonization of research and safety standards. Until August 2008, he was also the Chairman of the International Enhanced Safety of Vehicles Government Focal Points representing senior safety researchers from various countries in Europe, Australia, Canada, Japan, Korea, and the United States. During his tenure, Dr. Kanianthra has received several distinguished performance awards and superior achievement awards in NHTSA and the Department of Transportation (DOT). These include the Secretary's Award for meritorious and technological achievements and the Presidential Rank Award for sustained superior achievements. In March 2008, he was awarded the Pathfinder Award by the Automotive Occupant Restraint Council. Most recently, in October 2008, he also received the Award of Merit for his significant contributions in safety from the Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine. In June of 2009, he received the Award for Engineering Excellence from the U.S. Government Department of Transportation at the 21st Enhanced Safety of Vehicles Conference in Stuttgart, Germany. In October 2009, in recognition of his outstanding technical achievements in vehicle safety, he was also elected to be an SAE Fellow by the SAE Board of Directors and the SAE Fellows Committee. He has addressed many national and international safety and mobility conferences sponsored by SAE, FISITA, ICRASH, ESV, ITSA and many others. He is an inventor and an internationally recognized safety expert, and he has published many technical papers and articles on his safety vision for the future in professional journals and other publications. He is an active member of the Society of Automotive Engineers.
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Congressman Fred Upton
The Honorable
Peter "Jack" Basso is the Director of Program Finance and Management at AASHTO the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. Basso joined AASHTO as Chief Operating Officer and Business Development Director in March of 2001 to oversee the management of a $33 million non profit organizations representing the interests of State Departments of Transportation. Prior to joining AASHTO, Mr. Basso served as Assistant Secretary for Budget and Programs and as Chief Financial Officer of the U.S. Department of Transportation. In that capacity, he oversaw the development of a $60 billion budget and interacted with senior officials, members of Congress, their staff, and key industry officials on a wide variety of transportation matters. Prior to his appointment by President Clinton to this position, he served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Budget and Programs. Mr. Basso has over 35 years of service as a career official that included assignments such as Assistant Director for General Management of the Office of Management and Budget, Deputy Chair for Management of the National Endowment for the Arts, and Director of Fiscal Services for the Federal Highway Administration. He has held numerous positions in administration and management with the FHWA.
Joseph N. Kanianthra, Ph.D. (Mech.Eng.)
