Dr. Patrick Szary, Associate Director of CAIT. Photo ©Dr. Patrick Szary.
The Associate Director of CAIT, Dr. Patrick Szary, was recently elected as CUTC’s latest President. Dr. Szary leads CAIT’s research efforts helping to align them with USDOT’s national vision and the needs of stakeholders in the Northeast region. He has been a long-time member of CUTC’s executive board, previously serving as Vice President and Secretary in recent years.
At its June summer meeting in Big Sky, Montana, the Council of University Transportation Centers (CUTC) elected Dr. Patrick Szary, associate director of the Rutgers Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation (CAIT), as its 2022-2023 President. Since 1979 CUTC has been the mechanism for major transportation research centers, universities, and institutes to interact collectively with each other, government, and industry.
In his new role, Dr. Szary will help to lead CUTC and promote the innovative transportation research, education outreach, and technology transfer efforts being conducted by University Transportation Centers (UTC) across the country.
“As we are coming out of the COVID-19 Pandemic, the way that we live, work, travel, and think about transportation has changed.” Dr. Szary said. “It is important that as researchers we are dynamic to meet the developing needs of our stakeholders. As we look to the future we need to think about mentorship, development, and essentially the engagement of future leaders. Everyone agrees that the past few years have really changed us. So the question is, what comes next? How does CUTC evolve? I am excited for the opportunity to help steer CUTC in these changing times and ensure that we collectively leverage our transportation focused universities to engage with stakeholders on projects that can save time and money, promote equity, improve durability, and enhance the resilience of our transportation systems.”
Last year Dr. Szary served as CUTC Vice President, helping to assist in leading the organization and managing CUTC’s annual banquet and summer meeting. In previous roles, Dr. Szary also served as CUTC secretary and was on the CUTC Executive Committee from 2014-2017.
As an organization, CUTC members work together to raise the profile of innovative and impactful research being conducted at university centers across the nation.
“Throughout its history CUTC has advanced the state-of-the-art in all modes of transportation,” Dr. Szary said. “By continuing to collaborate and work closely with members, I hope to help the organization address new challenges and give back to the transportation research community. I also thank USDOT for their continued support of the UTC program and the close collaboration OST-R has with CUTC and our member schools.”
As associate director of Rutgers CAIT, Dr. Szary has been integral to the Center’s success since its inception as a USDOT University Transportation Center in 1998—as well as helping it grow into the current Region 2 UTC focused on the “Durability and Extending the Life of Transportation Infrastructure.”
As PI/Co-PI he has generated more than $75.2 million in funding for CAIT and has published more than 50 research reports and journal articles. Some of his recent work has included launching workforce development programs for youth in the state with the New Jersey Department of Labor, supporting NJ Transit in testing new technologies for enhanced safety on public transit vehicles, and more.
Overall, he has worked to align CAIT’s research to meet national visions as well as regional needs—including the adoption of new technologies such as UAS—through his leadership and engagement with stakeholders and decision makers in the transportation industry.
