Michigan Technological University (MTU) hosted the first National University Rail Center of Excellence (NURail CoE) annual meeting on 13 August 2024 in conjunction with the Michigan Rail Conference (MRC). At the meeting, representatives from each of the nine NURail CoE partner universities discussed their plans and projects through their partnership with the Center. Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Program Manager Tarek Omar and FRA Associate Administrator Mark Patterson were present at the meeting that provided an opportunity to introduce NURail CoE and its mission to the larger rail community.
Several NURail CoE partners and students, who were among the 122 registrants of MRC 2024, served as moderators and presented research at the conference. These included NURail CoE Director and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) Professor Chris Barkan, Michigan Technological University Associate Dean and Professor Pasi Lautala, University of Texas at Austin Assistant Professor Tyler Dick, University of Illinois Chicago Professor PS Sriraj, UIUC PhD candidate Xinhao Liu, and student Anas Taeb and Associate Professor Kuilin Zhang, both of MTU.MRC 2024 featured more than 25 professional industry speakers, including Surface Transportation Board Member Patrick Fuchs and Associate Administrator for the Federal Railroad Administration Mark Patterson as the keynote speakers. The theme of the conference was Pivot to the Future and it was held 14-16 August 2024 on the campus of Schoolcraft College in Livonia, Michigan.
