Session No. 2E
Connected Vehicles — Local and National Updates
This session will cover ongoing Connected Vehicle initiatives on both the national and local levels.
Moderator: Drew Horgan, Jacobs
V2X/5.9 GHz Spectrum Band Updates
- Tim Drake, Vice President, Public Policy and Regulatory Affairs, ITS America
New Jersey DOT Connected Vehicle Program Updates and Initiatives
- Wasif Mirza, Director of Mobility Engineering, New Jersey Department of Transportation
- Kevin Hayes, Manager of Advanced Transportation Systems, Jacobs
Pennsylvania DOT CAV Program Update
- Gunnar Rhone, Engineering Specialist, PennDOT Office of Transformational Technology
Timothy Drake serves as ITS America’s Vice President for Public Policy and Regulatory Affairs. In this position, Drake is responsible for developing ITS America’s policy positions on transportation and infrastructure issues including spectrum policy, automated and connected vehicles, sustainability, resiliency, and smart infrastructure. He is also responsible for ITS America’s interactions with federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Federal Communications Commission, and the Department of Energy, as they develop guidance and regulations to implement federal law and policy in these areas. Prior to joining ITS America, Drake was a Public Policy Associate at Squire Patton Boggs, LLP, working on transportation and infrastructure policy and regulatory affairs. Drake advised public and private sector clients on the development and implementation of comprehensive strategic plans regarding transportation policy, legislation, regulation, and funding priorities. He worked with clients in a variety of issue areas, including public transportation, infrastructure funding, automated vehicles, transportation technologies, safety regulations, unmanned aircraft systems, economic development, and federal agency procurement. Drake holds a Juris Doctor degree from the Georgetown University Law Center and a Bachelor of Arts from The Ohio State University.
Wasif Mirza is the Director, Division of Mobility and Systems Engineering for NJDOT. Mirza oversees a staff of 42 and an ITS budget of 73 million (for Mobility and Systems Engineering, Intelligent Traffic Signal Systems and Congestion Relief projects/programs). He is responsible for providing for the planning, design, construction, review, inspection and maintenance of technology related projects and intelligent initiatives. Mirza and staff also provide for engineering services along with technical support for ITS and smart initiatives, vehicular mobility during construction, development of smart signal systems along New Jersey State corridors, Connectivity and Communications (V2I) systems deployment and management.
Kevin Hayes has served various agencies throughout the state of New Jersey as an ITS project manager, engineer, integrator, and contractor for more than 18 years. Throughout his career, Hayes has helped each of these agencies achieve innovative ITS design and deployment solutions in areas such as adaptive and coordinated traffic signal systems, communications networking, ITS device deployment, transit signal priority applications, and most recently in the testing and deployment of Connected Vehicle technology along New Jersey infrastructure.
Gunnar Rhone is the Engineering Specialist in the PennDOT Office of Transformational Technology. He has six years of engineering experience, which includes CAV pilot planning, deployments and emerging mobility solutions across the country. Notable projects include PennSTART, PA’s Vehicle Platooning Policy and PDD Policy, and Smart Columbus. Rhone holds a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering and MBA, both from Penn State.
