Neal Hawkins

TITLE

Director Research Administration, ISU

PHONE

515-294-7733

EMAIL

hawkins@iastate.edu

ADDITIONAL ROLES

Associate Director, InTrans

Co-Director, REACTOR

Co-Director, Aurora

Adjunct Lecturer, Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering

AFFILIATIONS

InTrans, Aurora, CTRE, REACTOR

About Neal

Mr. Neal Hawkins is a licensed professional engineer with 34 years of experience in traffic engineering, operations, and safety. Throughout his career, he has held various key roles, including city traffic engineer, consultant, and, for the past two decades, academic researcher. Mr. Hawkins leads research initiatives across diverse domains such as traffic operations, safety, managing disruptions, weather, connected vehicles, work zones, pavement markings, and infrastructure. He holds the position of Associate Director for the Institute for Transportation at Iowa State University, and he leads numerous research projects as principal investigator (PI) or Co-PI. He established and now co-directs the Center for Transportation Research and Education’s Real-Time Analytics of Transportation Data (REACTOR) Laboratory, which is a collaborative research initiative focused on streaming analytics and decision support tools for public agencies. Additionally, Mr. Hawkins fulfills the role of the Iowa Department of Transportation’s (DOT’s) Traffic Operations Research Engineer and serves as an adjunct assistant professor in Iowa State’s Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering. He also co-leads the Federal Highway Administration’s Pooled Fund (Aurora), which includes 19 state DOTs focused on road weather information systems and operations.

Education


  • MS, Civil Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, 1990 
  • BS, Civil Engineering, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, 1988 

Professional Experience


  • Associate Director, Institute for Transportation, Iowa State University, 2016–present
  • Director, Center for Transportation Research and Education, Institute for Transportation, Iowa State University, 2010–2016
  • Director, Center for Weather Impacts on Mobility and Safety, Institute for Transportation, Iowa State University, 2009–2016
  • Pooled Fund Manager (Co-PI), FHWA Aurora RWIS, Institute for Transportation, Iowa State University, 2010–present
  • Traffic Operations Engineer (25% appointment with the Iowa DOT), 2013–present
  • Traffic Safety Engineer (25% appointment with the Iowa DOT), 2009–2013
  • MTC Research Coordinator, Midwest Transportation Consortium, Institute for Transportation, Iowa State University, 2009–2012
  • Associate Director, Traffic Operations at Center for Transportation Research and Education, Institute for Transportation, Iowa State University, 2003–2010
  • Adjunct Lecturer, Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, Iowa State University, 2003–present

Selected Publications


  • Huang, T., S. Knickerbocker, A. Sharma, and N. Hawkins. 2018. Implementing Big Data Quality Assurance with Visualization Tools. , 97th Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting, Washington DC, January 2018.
  • Knickerbocker, S., V. K. Jagarlamudi, N. Hawkins, and A. Sharma. 2018. Iowa DOT Traffic Operations Open Data Service. Iowa Department of Transportation, Ames, IA.
  • Hallmark, S., N. Hawkins, R. Thapa, S. Knickerbocker, and J. Gaspar. 2017. Evaluation of Intersection Collision Warning Systems. Minnesota Department of Transportation, St. Paul, MN.
  • Hawkins, N., and S. Hallmark. 2018. Speed Management ePrimer for Rural Transition Zones and Town Centers. DTFH61-13-D-00026. Institute for Transportation Engineers, Federal Highway Administration, Washington, DC.

Professional Affiliations, Honors, and Awards


  • TRB Committee: AHD55 Member, AND40 Friend
  • Institute for Transportation (ITE) Fellow
  • MOVITE Past President
  • Past Chair, ITE Ethics Task Force
  • ITS Heartland, Past Academic Sector Director
  • “Distinguished Member Award,” Missouri Valley Section of the Institute of Transportation
  • “Melvin B. Meyer Transportation Professional of the Year,” Missouri Valley Section of the Institute of Transportation

Completed Research


In-Progress Research


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