Transportation leaders, policymakers, administrators, and researchers from government, industry, and academia will gather Jan. 5-9, 2025, in Washington, D.C., for the 104th annual meeting of the Transportation Research Board. The meeting’s program covers all modes of transportation with hundreds of sessions and workshops. The theme for this year’s conference is how innovations in technology, business, and processes help support transportation’s role in a thriving society.

Highlights:

The plenary session on Jan. 8 will have an international focus and feature Victoria Sheehan, executive director of the Transportation Research Board; Sarah Sharples, chief scientific advisor for the United Kingdom’s Department for Transport; Susanna Zammataro, director general of the International Road Federation; Binyam Reja, practice manager for transport for the World Bank; Patrick Mallejacq, secretary general of PIARC – World Road Association; andSylvain Haon, senior director of strategy for the International Association of Public Transport.

On Jan. 6, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Transportation Polly Trottenberg will lead a discussion with Amit Bose, administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration, and other federal transportation leaders on how the USDOT is shaping the nation’s mobility future for the long term.

Robert Hampshire, deputy assistant secretary and chief science officer for research and technology at USDOT, will lead a session on Jan. 7 about research, development, and technology accomplishments.

Sessions on Jan. 7 on federal investments, safety, and workforce issues will include secretaries, directors, and commissioners of the Florida, Hawaiʻi, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Wisconsin departments of transportation.

Discussions on zero-emissions freight, supply chain shifts, automated vehicles and roadway digital infrastructure, National Transportation Safety Boardinvestigations, and other topics will take place throughout the week.