The National Operations Center of Excellence named six transportation professionals on June 2 to be the first members of its new Transportation Systems Management and Operations or TSMO fellowship program.

NOCoE’s inaugural fellowship participants are:

• Murad Al Qurishee, graduate transportation associate, Tennessee Department of Transportation
• Joshua Byrd, data specialist, Virginia Department of Transportation
• Chester Osborne, superintendent of operations management, Massachusetts Department of Transportation
• Drew Sorenson, highway engineer-graduate engineer development program, Indiana Department of Transportation
• Jacob Whitfield, signal operations engineer, Washington State Department of Transportation
• Austin Yates, TSMO engineer, Iowa Department of Transportation

NOCoE – a partnership of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, the Institute for Transportation Engineers, and ITS America, with support from the Federal Highway Administration – explained that its fellowship program is a “direct response” to the transportation industry’s need for programs to assist in developing the next generation of TSMO practitioners. It will formally begin in June 2020 and will run until May 2021.

A major element of NOCoE’s Workforce Campaign launched in January, the group said its fellowship program will help support participants’ short and long-term career goals while building soft skills – including interpersonal communications, writing, and media interactions – that go beyond technical analysis and basic presentations.

“This a really fascinating group of people and I couldn’t be more excited to get to know them and help them on their TSMO journey,” said Patrick Son, NOCoE’s managing director, in a statement. “They are the future of TSMO as well as the ambassadors we need to promote efficiency and safety on our roadways.”