2005 Award Committee Selections

At the 2005 Annual Section meeting, the following award recipients were announced:

• Carol A. Murray, P.E., Commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Transportation: Transportation Leadership Award.  
   
• Stephen R. Landry, P.E. of the Maine Department of Transportation: Transportation Engineer of the Year Award  
   
• Joseph C. Oppenlander, Ph.D., P.E., Professor Emeritus, University of Vermont Department of Civil Engineering: Distinguished Service Award
• Michael A. Knodler Jr., Ph.D, Assistant Professor at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst: Young Professional Group Award

These awards were presented at the New England Section's annual meeting in Warwick, Rhode Island on December 5, 2005 by the NEITE President, Kenneth. Petraglia, P.E., with the exception of the Transportation Leadership Award, which was presented at the  December  meeting of the Chapter in New Hampshire. The introductions and plaque texts of the 2005 Awards are presented below. 
 

Carol A. Murray, P.E.

Commissioner
New Hampshire Department of Transportation 

Carol Murray was sworn in as the tenth Commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Transportation on June 30, 2001.  As Commissioner, she heads an agency with 2,300 employees and oversees the planning, developing and maintenance of New Hampshire’s transportation network.  Carol had previously served as Assistant Commissioner of the NHDOT since July of 1996.
A native of Littleton, New Hampshire, Ms. Murray graduated Cum Laude from the University of New Hampshire in Durham in 1978 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering.  She immediately went to work at what was then known as the NH Department of Public Works and Highways.
Carol Murray has held a number of important positions in her more than two decades of service at the NHDOT, including Administrator of the Bureaus of Transportation Planning and Right-of-Way, and Director of the Division of Administration.
She was recognized in November 2004 with the “Good Scout Award” from the Daniel Webster Council as “representative of the strong values and character we would hope to instill in our children”. In January of 2005, Carol was named as an Honorary Member of the American Institute of Architects for “her vision and determination” to ensure a cooperative planning and design process, and to foster well-designed projects for the State of New Hampshire. 

TRANSPORTATION LEADERSHIP AWARD
2005
Presented To 

Carol A. Murray, P.E. 

For 

Her Vision, Leadership, and Tireless Effort 
Gaining Consensus and Adapting Financing 
for the Interstate 93 Project and thus 
Improving Driver Safety in New Hampshire 

Joseph C. Oppenlander , Ph.D., P.E. 
 

Professor Emeritus
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Vermont. 

Joseph Oppenlander was conferred his Doctorate at the University of Illinois, his Masters in Civil Engineering at Purdue, and his BSCE at Case Institute of Technology. Doctor Oppenlander is listed in the International Who’s Who in Engineering, the American Men and Women of Science and many others. In 1985, the New England Section of ITE awarded Joe the Transportation Engineer of the Year Award; and, in 2003 he was honored as the Vermont Engineer of the Year. 
Throughout his career, he has been active as a consultant, author, professor and ITE member. Through his consulting firm, TRANSOP, Inc, he authored over 100 major technical reports for various private organizations and public agencies.  His research publications include over 60 items, and it is still growing as he traveled to Poland to present a paper on continuous traffic signal warrants this past year. For over 30 years, he has been a well known, liked and respected professor of Civil engineering at the University of Vermont. He was chairman of the Department from 1969 to 1979. He has served on over 36 technical committees. Joe Oppenlander has had a remarkably active career, and yet has had the time to serve, share his knowledge, and share his zeal for matters - traffic through ITE.  Most notably, Joe served as President of the Vermont Chapter of the New England Section of ITE from 1990 to 1998. 

DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD
2005
Presented To 

Joseph C. Oppenlander, Ph.D., P.E. 

For

Stephen R. Landry, P.E.

Assistant State Traffic Engineer
Maine Department of Transportation

Steve Landry is a 1986 graduate of the University of Maine, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Geological Sciences.  He has been employed by the Maine Department of Transportation since March of 1987.  His early job assignments included management and design of several of the largest highway projects in the state.  He was promoted to the Traffic Engineering Division in 1999, to become the Assistant State Traffic Engineer. Steve has been instrumental in the development of the Traffic Movement Permit process for major developer projects throughout the state. He has developed and crafted changes to Maine DOT's Access Management policy to regulate growth on Maine highways. He has administrative responsibility for development of all traffic-related projects generated by the Department. Most notably, Steve worked directly on the design of the first totally-integrated traffic-responsive signal system in Maine, involving three communities and nearly thirty signals in the vicinity of the Maine Mall.

Steve is currently president of the Maine Chapter of the New England Section of ITE. Steve lives in Augusta, with his wife, Jane, and their two teenage daughters. Steve and his family enjoy outdoor activities, such as biking, hiking, and skiing. 

      TRANSPORTATION ENGINEER OF THE YEAR AWARD
2005
Presented To

Stephen R. Landry, P.E.

For

Michael A. Knodler, Ph.D. 

Assistant Professor
University of Massachusetts-Amherst 

Michael Knodler is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst where he earned his Master degree (2002) and Ph.D. degree (2004) both in Civil Engineering.  Dr. Knodler is currently an Assistant Professor in the Transposition Engineering Department at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Dr. Knodler’s research has been sponsored by the National Cooperative Highway Research Program, the Massachusetts Highway Department and the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration.  He currently is the Project Engineer for the Massachusetts Traffic Safety Research Program at UMass where he is responsible for experimental designs, evaluations, data collection and analysis.  Dr. Knodler advises several students currently completing Masters projects under auspices of MassSAFE. 
Dr. Knodler served as President of the ITE Student Chapter from 1999-2000 and currently serves as Faculty Advisor for the program.   
 
 
 

      YOUNG PROFESSIONALS GROUP AWARD
2005
Presented To 

Michael A. Knodler Jr., Ph.D. 

For

Outstanding Contributions to
the New England Section  through
the UMass Chapter and to the Profession
through University Research as an 
Emerging Transportation Professional