Knapp named LTAP director
Keith Knapp, P.E., has been named director of the Iowa Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP), which is administered by the Institute for Transportation (InTrans) at Iowa State University. He assumes his new role on June 1, 2010, following Duane Smith, P.E., who retired December 31, 2009.
Knapp is currently the Director of Transportation Safety Engineering at the University of Minnesota Center for Excellence in Rural Safety. He is also a part-time transportation safety consultant. His work primarily focuses on the operational and safety impacts of roadway characteristics. He is an instructor in various electronic and face-to-face training courses each year for a wide range of transportation professionals. He is also the Director of the Deer-Vehicle Crash Information and Research Center and is a registered professional engineer in Iowa. He worked at the Iowa State University Center for Transportation Research and Education from 1998 to 2000.
Prior to his time in Minnesota, Knapp served as Program Director for the Engineering Professional Development Department at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He developed, organized, and/or taught a program of 9 to 12 transportation-related training courses each year throughout the United States and organized and instructed the Wisconsin LTAP Highway Safety course (offered seven times a year). He has helped complete contract training courses for state departments of transportation, the Federal Highway Administration, and the Institute of Transportation Engineers. Under Knapp's guidance, an annual symposium for the Deer-Vehicle Crash Information and Research Center was also organized and held each year.
Knapp is excited about his new position at LTAP. "It's great to return to Iowa and focus on providing effective and useful training and outreach opportunities that respond to the ever-increasing demands on the time and resources of local transportation professionals. The Iowa LTAP provides many valuable services that I'm happy to be a part of," he says. Knapp's past and current work with many InTrans staff members will allow him to remain current on state and national efforts that could be of assistance to Iowa's local transportation community.
"I'm pleased to continue to work with Keith as we increase the effectiveness of LTAP," says InTrans director Shashi Nambisan. "LTAP provides a forum for faculty, staff, students, and practitioners to work together to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of investments in public works systems not only in Iowa, but beyond its borders."
The National Local Technical Assistance Program is supported by the Federal Highway Administration and consists of centers in all 50 states plus Puerto Rico and 7 Native American regions.
Iowa's LTAP is dedicated to helping Iowa's local governments keep up with growing demands on local roads, streets, bridges, and public transportation. The program provides technical and management assistance to Iowa's local transportation officials through a variety of activities.
Contacts:
KeithKnapp, Institute for Transportation, Iowa State University, (515) 294-8103, knapp@iastate.edu
Shashi Nambisan, Institute for Transportation, Iowa State University, (515) 294-5209, shashi@iastate.edu
Marcia Brink, Institute for Transportation, Iowa State University, (515) 294-9480, mbrink@iastate.edu
