The Washington DC-based ITE (Institute of Transportation Engineers) has announced that Jenny L Grote and Walter H Kraft have been selected to receive two of the organisation’s top honours, the Burton W. Marsh Award for Distinguished Service and the Theodore M. Matson Memorial Award, respectively.
The, Burton W. Marsh Award, given to Grote, was established in 1970 to recognise an individual who has contributed to the advancement of ITE over a period of years in an outstanding fashion.
A long-time member, Grote has served ITE with distinction over an extended period of time. She has held all offices of the Arizona Section, and the Western District, was elected to two-terms on the International Board of Direction and in 2002 became the International President.
She has continued active ITE involvement as the Western District Administrator for eight years, and today is the District Administrator of the newly formed Mountain District. Grote remains on several technical councils and committees, continues to contribute to industry publications and is a mentor for many younger members. In 2016, the Arizona Section established the Jenny L. Grote Student Leadership Award in her honour as she has dedicated countless hours over many years promoting ITE involvement to students.
Burton W Marsh Award
The Burton W Marsh Award, given to Kraft, was established in 1957 to recognise an individual who has made outstanding contributions to the practice and advancement of traffic engineering.
Dr Kraft is an internationally recognised transportation systems expert with more than 50 years of experience in transportation including design, implementation, integration, software, operations, management, and teaching. Kraft is a Past-International President and an Honorary Member of ITE and a recipient of the Burton W. Marsh Award for Distinguished Service, among other industry awards.
Dr. Kraft’s contributions include chairing and participating on various national steering committees on transportation management, developing A Recommended Practice of ITE on the Management and Operations of Intelligent Transportation Systems, developing and presenting technical courses and guidelines on the management and operations of Intelligent Transportation Systems, and serving as editor of the sixth edition of ITE’s Traffic Engineering Handbook and of ITE and IMSA’s Traffic Signal Maintenance Handbook. He developed the initial synthesis of highway practices related to transportation management functions, explored the impact of solid-state equipment and integrated systems on traffic signal control maintenance management practices, and led specific transportation information and control systems in many U.S. locations.
Comment
“Jenny’s contributions to ITE have been both significant and sustained. Her willingness to lend her professional perspective and signature energy to councils, committees, international initiatives, and local programs is unparalleled and her many contributions to ITE have made us a stronger, more effective organisation. She is certainly deserving of the honour,” said Jeffrey F Paniati, ITE executive director and CEO.
“Walter has been a pioneer and leader in traffic and congestion management, from specific hands-on projects, to theory and concepts, to teaching, and to development of guidelines and procedures,” adds Paniati. “His contributions to the transportation industry, his decades-long passion for improving the management and operations of our country’s transportation systems, and his dedication to ITE are indeed worthy of this recognition.”
