Welcome Message

It’s an honor to welcome you to the 6th Biennial Marine Transportation System Research and Development Conference.  Our theme is Advancing the Marine Transportation System through Automation and Autonomous Technologies.  Who knew when we began planning the conference in 2019 it would become our first virtual conference in this series due to a global pandemic?  Our virtual conference format seems a fitting metaphor for an automation and autonomy conference theme and identifying the trends, applications and challenges to accomplishing our goals.  Our dedicated organizing committee has curated keynote presenters and panels with national and international perspectives, selecting government, industry, and academic leaders that will discuss policy and practice.  They will be supported with technical breakout sessions by leaders, innovators, and researchers who will lead discussions on the state of knowledge and future directions in automation and autonomous technologies, science, and engineering. This unique blending of policy, practice, science and engineering culminates on Friday, March 19 with a special attendee discussion and identification of the main conference takeaways; what are the biggest challenges and emerging technologies, where are the innovators and thought leaders headed, which agencies are conducting research and what are their priorities, and many more.

On behalf of the planning committee, we welcome your engagement as policy makers, transportation agency practitioners, academics, private sector stakeholders, and consultants. We appreciate the contributions by the many prestigious panelists, speakers and participants. This conference, as in past ones, will continue to be a catalyst for innovation and collaboration in the MTS.

Jeff Lillycrop

Chair, Sixth Biennial Marine Transportation
System Research and Development Conference 

Woolpert