36th RI Transportation Forum held at URI on October 27.

CIRI’s Mike Gammino recognized for outstanding contribution and support.

At the 36th Rhode Island Transportation Forum, CIRI once again served as a sponsor with several member companies also providing additional program and financial support.

Our organization was well represented throughout at the podium and beyond. Longstanding CIRI board member Michael A. Gammino III was honored with a Recognition of Outstanding Contribution and Support award. The 2023 winners of scholarships from CIRI, Narragansett Improvement and The Hudson Companies were also acknowledged.

Prominent speakers at the event included (l-r) Nisa Pistacchio, Projects Director for U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse; URI President Dr. Marc B. Parlange; and Pamela Cotter, RIDOT Administrator of Planning.

A wide variety of participants and pertinent topics.

Co-hosted by RIDOT and the RI Transportation Research Center (RITRC), the one-day Rhode Island Transportation Forum was created by URI’s Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering in 1992. It attracts international attendees from all facets of the field, including construction industries, consulting firms and academia — along with federal, state and municipal agencies.

Plenary speeches were delivered by Prof. Amy Epps Martin of Texas A&M Transportation Institute, president of the Association of Asphalt Paving Technologists (AAPT); Prof. Joseph F. Coughlin, PhD, Director of the MIT AgeLab at the Center for Transportation & Logistics; and Prof. Michael A. Knodler, Jr. PhD, Director of the UMass Transportation Center.

Topic areas presented/discussed included sustainable pavement design, green infrastructure, cold in-place recycling, warm mix asphalt and lifecycle cost analyses for different methods. The event included numerous podium presentations by New England faculty and researchers — along with poster presentations by URI researchers and students.