Dr Steve Dellenback, vice president of the Intelligent Systems Division at Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), has received the prestigious Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) International 2016 Delco Electronics Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Award.
Established in 1996, the SAE award is funded from an endowment contributed by Delco Electronics, and recognizes, ‘exceptional work as a leader in the design, development, and deployment of intelligent transportation systems’.
Dellenback has been leading SwRI’s efforts in transportation systems for more than 20 years. The organization has developed advanced traffic management systems (ATMS) for eight states, and SwRI’s ATMS software is now deployed in over 45 control centers across the USA. The software is owned by the states and standards are heavily used to implement field device communications, as well as center-to-center communication.
Currently celebrating 70 years of innovative R&D, SwRI is an independent, non-profit, applied research and development organization based in San Antonio, Texas, with nearly 2,700 employees and an annual research volume of US$559m. Under Dellenback’s leadership, SwRI has also advanced the state of the art in connected and automated vehicles. SwRI has developed more than 15 different automated vehicle platforms ranging from golf carts to tractor trailers, and it develops enabling technologies for manufacturers, suppliers and the military throughout the world, including both on-road and off-road autonomy efforts.
Dellenback serves as secretary of the ITS America’s board of directors. He also serves as the International Program Chair for ITS America and is a participant on multiple ITS standards organizations. He is a member of SAE and a senior IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) member.
Accepting the award at the WCX17: SAE World Congress Experience at the Cobo Center in Detroit, Michigan, Dellenback said, “I really want to share credit with the many developers, engineers, and scientists who helped design and implement our intelligent transportation technology, as well as the Institute for the internal research funds that helped develop ground-breaking innovations over the years. Our expertise in ATMS at SwRI enhances research in connected and automated vehicles. These vehicles will communicate with traffic management systems to ease congestion and improve roadway safety.”
