UK-based TRL celebrated a key milestone in December, with the month marking nine decades of transformative transport research at the organization.
Since its establishment in 1933, TRL has been a global leader in research themes that resonate as much today as they did at the start: to make highways more cost effective to build and operate; to make transport systems more efficient and accessible; and to constantly improve the safety of all transport users.
The nature of the built environment is having to change in response to existential challenges such as climate change. New technologies offer transformative potential for the movement of people and goods. And the needs and wants of society are also evolving. To keep pace, TRL has itself had to evolve to remain relevant, each new cohort of specialists enriching its unique domain expertise.
Earlier this month, the TRL team celebrated the nine decade milestone in a staff-only event, where it honoured the contributions made by TRL employees across the decades by inviting the employee with the most seniority (David Gershkoff, a practice lead in pavement structural assessment who has been with TRL for 37 years) and the newest addition to the team (Aditi Kamath, a graduate researcher in the Safety Services Team, who has worked at TRL for three months) to cut a giant cake.
“TRL is an amazing place to work; what we do has such far reaching consequences. It’s a responsibility we take seriously, and to be at the helm for this anniversary is a privilege,” said Paul Campion, CEO.
“It’s a rare thing for an organization to have survived so long, remaining true to its original vision and mission. As we enter our tenth decade, TRL is proudly committed to shaping the future of transport through sustainable and accessible solutions, compiling the evidence to shape policy and deliver the benefits of innovation. As a social purpose enterprise, everything we do today is about making the world a better place for future generations.” he concluded.
Established in 1933 as the UK government’s Road Research Laboratory, the renamed TRL was privatized in 1996 and today has more than 1,000 clients in many countries. Today, TRL is a team of expert scientists, engineers and specialists who work together with their clients and partners to create the future of transport.
The TRL group of companies is owned by the Transport Research Foundation: a nonprofit-distributing social purpose company that enables its experts to give independent advice without influence from shareholders or finance companies.
To read more about the history of TRL and its key achievements, click here.
