Mr. Robert Harrison

Mr. Harrison is a Senior Research Scientist and the Deputy Director of the Center for Transportation Research at the University of Texas at Austin. He has worked in the area of transportation economics and planning for over 30 years and has published extensively in the area of economic impact studies, trucking issues, cost benefit analysis and transport system planning. Recently, his work has focused on Texas-Mexico border trade issues and inland ports (which was started with seed money from the SWUTC), with both studies resulting in Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Top Innovation Awards. In addition, he has studied NAFTA trade corridors and the major markets served by the Texas gulf ports. Mr. Harrison has written over 40 research reports and published over 30 peer reviewed technical papers, made presentations to senior U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) staff, and has given testimony at a number of Texas Senate hearings. Prior to joining the Center for Transportation Research in 1987, Mr. Harrison worked first as an academic in the United Kingdom, then as an economist for the United Nations, and finally as a consultant to the World Bank.

Mr. Harrison is active within the Transportation Board (TRB). He is Chair of the Intermodal Freight Terminal Design and Operations committee, and a member of the committees on Motor Vehicle Size and Weight, International Trade and Transportation and Agricultural Transportation. He is a past president of the Transportation Research Forum (TRF) and currently serves as an associate editor of the TRF Journal.