TREC director Jennifer Dill named editor-in-chief of Transportation Research Record

Jennifer Dill, director of Portland State University’s Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC), has been named the inaugural editor-in-chief of the Transportation Research Record (TRR). The TRR—the flagship journal of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Transportation Research Board (TRB)—is one of the most cited and prolific transportation journals in the world, offering wide coverage of transportation-related topics.

While maintaining her current role as the director of TREC, Dill will begin her duties at TRR on July 15, collaborating with the TRR team and TRB volunteers to enhance the journal’s role in improving the nation’s transportation system through high-quality research.

“The Transportation Research Record and TRB have played key roles in my scholarly and professional career. My very first peer-reviewed journal article was published in TRR based on research I did as an undergraduate student with my mentor, Dr. Dan Sperling. That opportunity opened my eyes to the possibility of being a researcher and professor,” Dill said.

Prior to entering academia, Dill worked as an environmental and transportation planner at the federal and regional levels. When she first started as an assistant professor at Portland State University, she was inspired by an article in TRR to start a new thread of research focused on bicycling. This has shaped her career ever since: Dill today leads TREC, a national center in the field of active transportation research, while her own research continues to advance the state of practice around sustainable, multimodal transportation. Her work focuses on decision-making at both the individual and institutional levels, with a particular interest in multimodal and active transportation and the impacts of these choices on health, equity, infrastructure, and the environment.

“I have continued to publish in TRR… because I want my research to reach a particular audience—practitioners who can use the findings to make better decisions, like I did early on in my career,” Dill said.

Portland State University’s Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC) is home to the U.S. DOT funded National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC), the Initiative for Bicycle and Pedestrian Innovation (IBPI), PORTAL, BikePed Portal and other transportation grants and programs. We produce impactful research and tools for transportation decision makers, expand the diversity and capacity of the workforce, and engage students and professionals through education and participation in research. To get updates about what’s going on at TREC, sign up for our monthly newsletter or follow us at the links below.

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