2024 Southeast Wisconsin Transportation Symposium

Andrea Bill is the Director of the Wisconsin Local Technical Assistance Program and Associate Director of the Traffic Operations and Safety Laboratory at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. With these dual roles, she has been bringing research to technology transfer through in person and virtual webinars throughout Wisconsin and the U.S.  

Mr. Brad Basten is the strategic initiatives officer for CAV in WisDOT’s Division of Budget and Strategic Initiatives. He led the 2018 Governor’s Steering Committee on Connected and Autonomous Vehicles and has managed the Wisconsin Automated Vehicle External Advisory Committee since its inception in 2020. His background is in electrical and mechanical engineering, having 25 years of experience in manufacturing engineering, process improvement and business consulting in various industries.

Ms. Andrea Bill is currently the Associate Director with the TOPS Lab and Director of Transportation Information Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her current research incorporates aspects from traffic operations and safety, with specific emphasis on discovering new and innovative ways to address traffic crashes. She is currently working on multiple CAV projects in Wisconsin including an AV pilot with the City of Racine and Gateway Community College and a CV pilot with the City of Madison, TAPCO, and WisDOT. She is actively involved in the Transportation Research Board, Institute of Transportation Engineers, and American Society of Engineering Education.

Mr. Andrew McFadden is a researcher at the TOPS Lab. He has a diverse background in private, municipal, state, and academic organizations. He has prepared numerous technical reports for state DOTs and has organized stakeholder meetings and technical workshops. He is currently working on multiple CAV projects in Wisconsin including an AV pilot with the City of Racine and Gateway Community College and a CV pilot with the City of Madison, TAPCO, and WisDOT.

Dr. C. Y. David Yang is the President and the Executive Director of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.

He has co-authored numerous peer-reviewed journal articles, conference papers, and research reports on subjects related to vehicle technologies and automation, traffic safety, operations, and planning. Dr. Yang is an associate editor for the Journal of Intelligent Transportation Systems: Technology, Planning, and Operations and a member of the editorial board for the International Journal of Transportation Science and Technology. In addition, he serves on the Transportation Research Board’s Committee on Transitioning Evidence-Based Research into Practice and Research and Technology Coordinating Committee. Further, he is an advisory board member for several university transportation research centers.

Dr. Yang attended Purdue University and received his Bachelor of Science, Master of Science, and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in the field of civil engineering.

Jeremy Kloss serves as the Program and Policy Supervisor of the Electric Vehicle Unit in the Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s Division of Budget and Strategic Initiatives. In his current role, Jeremy is responsible for leading the Electric Vehicle Unit as Wisconsin implements the Wisconsin Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (WEVI) Program. Jeremy first joined WisDOT in 2019 as a Program and Policy Analyst with the Division of State Patrol’s Bureau of Transportation Safety. As an analyst, Jeremy was responsible for analyzing a variety of measurements as it pertains to traffic safety in Wisconsin and helping develop and lead the Predictive Analytics Pilot Program. Jeremy is a graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics, History, and Political Science. And finally, Jeremy is the father to a 3-year-old Beagle mix named Brewer.

Josh LeVeque is a Project Development Supervisor for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.  He has been with the department since 2001, and has worked on various design and construction projects.  Before his current position, he most recently served asa design project manager the Zoo Interchange project, I-94 East-West project, and various freeway rehabilitation projects.

Josh is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, and is a registered Professional Engineer in the State of Wisconsin.

A graduate of Marquette University and UW-Milwaukee’s Master’s of Geography program, Jeff Sponcia is in his 13^th year working with Milwaukee County.  After spending nearly ten years in Transit Planning at Milwaukee County Transit System helping reimagine the bus system, Jeff has spent the last three years as Transportation Program Planning Manager with the Milwaukee County Department of Transportation in the Director’s Office.  In this role, Jeff manages all aspects of the federal and state transportation grant process, from applications to administration to project management.  Thus far, Milwaukee County DOT has been awarded nearly $2 million in federal and state funding towards safer streets throughout the county.

Jeff and his family live in the Silver City neighborhood of Milwaukee and you’ll often find him riding an MCTS bus or a Bublr bike.  With pride representing both Marquette and UW-Milwaukee on the local transportation scene, Jeff encourages everyone to leave their single-occupant auto at home whenever possible and utilize all the safe, fun and efficient modes of transportation we have at our disposal.

Dr. Robert Schneider, Professor of Urban Planning at UW-Milwaukee, has 25 years of research and practical experience in the pedestrian and bicycle transportation field. He has led more than 30 peer-reviewed journal articles on topics such as active transportation safety, demand analysis, and data collection. Dr. Schneider chaired the TRB Pedestrian Committee from 2014 to 2020 and is currently Associate Director of the USDOT-funded Center for Pedestrian and Bicyclist Safety University Transportation Center. He is also co-chair of the UW-Milwaukee Department of Urban Planning.

Dr. Sikai (Sky) Chen, is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Department of Mechanical Engineering (courtesy), University of Wisconsin-Madison. He received his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering with a focus on Computational Science & Engineering from Purdue University in 2019. His research centers around three major themes: human users, AI, and transportation. He aims to innovate and develop safe, efficient, sustainable, and human-centered transportation systems using cutting-edge methods and technologies. The focus is on incorporating human behaviors, interactive autonomy, digital infrastructure, and intelligent control frameworks. Dr. Chen serves as a PI/co-PI for USDOT-funded research projects at the Center for Connected and Automated Transportation (CCAT) with a total budget near $2 million. In addition, he is a member of two ASCE national committees: Connected & Autonomous Vehicle Impacts, and Economics & Finance; IEEE Emerging Transportation Technology Testing Technical Committee, and TRB Standing Committee on Statistical Methods (AED60).

Trevor Jung serves as Transit and Mobility Director for RYDE Racine, the City of Racine’s public transportation system. While in this role, Racine has electrified or secured funding for the electrification of almost 40% of its transit fleet while integrating solar energy, launched a new vehicle locator application for the public, fostered greater institutional partnerships resulting in increased ridership, and reformed the management and employment structure of the transit department resulting in operational savings. Before assuming his current position, Trevor earned his Urban Studies degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and was twice elected to the City of Racine Common Council.

Dr. Xiao Qin is the Lawrence E. Sivak ’71 Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) and the Director of UWM Institute for Physical Infrastructure & Transportation (IPIT). Dr. Qin has over 25 years of research and teaching experience in the transportation field. He is the author/co-author of over 150 articles and technical reports, and a recipient of several best paper awards. Qin’s research improves the safety and efficiency of the transportation system across all modes through data analytics and technologies. He is a committee member of the Transportation Research Board, an editor of several transportation journals such as Transportation Research Record, Journal of Transportation Safety & Security, Urban Lifeline, and a co-author of the textbook “Highway Safety Analytics and Modeling” published by Elsevier. Dr. Qin received his Ph.D. from the University of Connecticut.