RSG Director Dana Lodico, PE, INCE Bd. Cert., will present at the Technology for a Quieter America: Advances in Noise Control Engineering workshop. The event is hosted by the National Academies of Engineering (NAE) and is part of an ongoing series of workshops.

Dana's presentation will describe her work for the Institute of Noise Control Engineering to roll out a new product noise rating (PNR) labeling system in the United States. With a nationwide PNR labeling system in place, consumers will have more information on products' noise levels. This will allow purchasers to compare products across similar categories and improve their indoor noise environment.

Who? Dana Lodico, PE, INCE Bd. Cert. (RSG)

What? Technology for a Quieter America: Advances in Noise Control Engineering workshop

Where and When? The workshop is being held virtually. Dana is presenting on Wednesday, October 20 at 3:40 p.m. ET. The workshop occurs from October 19 to October 20. Registration is free but requires NAE registration.

RSG celebrates 35 years in business this October. Since 1986, we have combined academic rigor with serious data analysis and computer modeling. Through the dedication of our employee-owners, we have evolved into an innovative consultancy. Our work now helps clients understand why people and systems do what they do and guides their decision-making.

“RSG solves challenging problems. But more than that, we offer our clients solutions grounded in innovative, data-driven methods,” said Stephen Lawe, Chief Executive Officer at RSG. “Every issue facing humanity now involves a complex system. Uniting people with diverse perspectives and backgrounds to tackle the issue at hand—that’s where we excel as a consultancy. We’re innovators at our core, and we have been since day one.”

In the three-and-a-half decades since our founding, we have consulted for Fortune 500 companies and clients at all levels of government while working in all 50 states and over 30 countries. Our unique culture has also won awards that cite our industry-leading benefits and workplace flexibility.

“As RSG celebrates 35 years, I’m thrilled to see the vision that I shared with my two friends and cofounders continue to make a significant and positive impact on the world,” said Tom Adler, PhD, President at RSG. “The system our clients operate in today is much more complex than it was when we started RSG. Now, more than ever, clients require rigorous analysis to guide, support—and, in many cases, defend—their decisions.”

RSG has also established itself as a cutting-edge firm that develops advanced software tools and platforms. We developed our own software (rMove™) to conduct location-aware market research and understand mobility patterns using big data. We have also contributed to the development of several open-source software products in use by clients around the world.

RSG Principal Johanna Zmud, PhD, will present at the ITS World Congress in Hamburg, Germany. The ITS Congress is the world's premier event that gathers industry experts, policy makers, and the public to discuss smart mobility technologies and transportation.

Johanna's presentation will focus on the equity implications of technology-enabled mobility services. Specifically, she will discuss findings from her previous work as principal investigator for the Transportation Research Board's (TRB’s) Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) B-47: Impact of Transformational Technologies on Underserved Populations. Work on TCRP B-47 will produce an inclusivity-oriented playbook for practitioners seeking to ameliorate some of the negative impacts on transportation equity and mobility inclusion as a result of new and emerging mobility technologies. Research for TCRP B-47 is underway.

Who? Johanna Zmud, PhD, Principal (RSG)

What? Special Interest Session (SIS 75), titled Equity Assessment of New Mobility Technologies: Current Status, during ITS World Congress

Where and When? The ITS Congress is being held in Hamburg, Germany. Johanna is presenting during a session on Thursday, October 14 at 11:00 a.m. CEST (5:00 p.m. GMT-4). The ITS Congress occurs from October 11 to October 15. The program link is below.

RSG Senior Consultant Tristan Cherry will present at the 89th Annual International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA) Annual Meeting & Exhibition in Anaheim, California. The 89th Annual IBTTA Meeting brings together owners and operators of toll facilities and the businesses that support them. Tristan's breakout session presentation is a trend talk about the long-term implications of remote work on the toll industry.

Who? Tristan Cherry, Senior Consultant (RSG)

What? IBTTA Annual Meeting & Exhibition

Where and When? The IBTTA Annual Meeting & Exhibition is being held in Anaheim, California. Tristan is presenting during a breakout session on Sunday, October 10 at 1:30 p.m. PT. The IBTTA Annual Meeting & Exhibition occurs from October 10 to October 12. The registration link is below.

RSG Senior Director Mark Bradley will present at this year's American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Committee on Data Management and Analytics (CDMA) Annual Virtual Conference. The AASHTO CDMA helps state departments of transportation improve transportation data collection, procurement, processing, analysis, reporting, and sharing.

Mark's presentation will share highlights from RSG's COVID-19 Transportation Insights Survey. Since May 2020, this survey has collected a wealth of data on how the pandemic is reshaping travel. Several agencies, including the Michigan Department of Transportation and Vermont Agency of Transportation, have purchased additional add-on samples to help understand travel changes in their regions. Mark will present an overview of our findings from this ongoing survey and discuss their relevance to state departments of transportation.

Who? Mark Bradley, Senior Director (RSG)

What? Committee on Data Management and Analytics (CDMA) Annual Virtual Conference, sponsored by AASHTO

Where and When? The CDMA Annual Conference is entirely virtual this year. Mark is presenting during the research portion on Tuesday, October 5 at 1:00 p.m. ET. The CDMA Annual Virtual Conference occurs from October 5 to October 6. The registration link is below.

RSG Senior Director Joel Freedman will present at the Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations (AMPO) conference this year. The AMPO 2021 Annual Conference gathers the nation's largest MPOs to advance the industry conversation around transportation planning.

Joel's presentation will discuss RSG's applications of ActivitySim. As ActivitySim's lead developers, we'll share insights into how this state-of-the-practice, open-source activity-based modeling platform can help clients (particularly MPOs) answer important travel demand questions. Technological and societal shifts require a strategic approach to planning and modeling, which RSG and ActivitySim deliver.

Who? Joel Freedman, Senior Director (RSG)

What? Moderated conversation on activity-based modeling using ActivitySim.

Where and When? The AMPO 2021 Annual Conference is being held in Scottsdale, Arizona. Joel is presenting during a session on Wednesday, October 6 at 1:45 p.m. PT. The conference occurs from October 5 to October 8. The registration link is below.

Micromobility encompasses multiple nonmotorized modes of travel, including bicycles and scooters. As the popularity of these modes has grown, so has the data available to planners. However, without active transportation data and tools to understand the data, agencies cannot make informed decisions related to micromobility infrastructure.

Over the past two years, RSG has been part of a multiagency project in Utah seeking to improve active transportation data collection, curation, and distribution. In light of this experience, RSG Senior Director Ben Stabler, GISP, will participate in an upcoming panel conversation describing our team's work creating the region's first bicycle travel demand model. Attendees will hear from several agencies and learn how the team shared priorities, resources, and expertise.

Who? Ben Stabler, GISP, Senior Director (RSG)

What? Panel webinar discussing active transportation data and tools in Utah.

Where and When? This is an online webinar sponsored by the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals. It takes place on Wednesday, September 15 from 3:00-4:30 p.m. ET. The registration link is below.

Two RSG senior consultants will be presenting at this year's Transportation Research Board (TRB) Conference on Advancing Transportation Equity.

Joann Lynch (Presentation)

On Thursday, September 9 at 11:00 a.m. ET, Joann Lynch will deliver a presentation on methods and actions practitioners can use to increase inclusion in travel surveys. Joann's talk is part of a session titled “Measure It, but Who Will Come? Measuring Equity and including Diverse Travel Populations,” which will describe several RSG-led travel survey efforts in Seattle and Minneapolis in the spring of 2021. Each effort employed a combination of equity and inclusion strategies to boost engagement among populations often underrepresented in travel surveys. Her presentation will outline a multipronged approach to improving representation and obtaining equitable, representative datasets. Importantly, attendees will learn how analysis of these efforts can help inform future survey best practices. This will help survey methodologists reach more respondents, including historically underrepresented groups.

Ted Mansfield, PhD (Poster Session)

On Monday, September 13 at 2:15 p.m. ET, Ted Mansfield, PhD, will present a poster of findings from a comparison of passively collected data (“big data”) with modern transportation survey instruments that emphasize recruitment of hard-to-reach populations across key equity dimensions. Ted's poster session is titled “Measuring Equity, Analysis Approach Metrics.” His poster features a case study on abrupt travel behavior changes measured during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. It shows how programs that combine travel surveys and big data could deliver more representative data. This, in turn, would support more equitable transportation decisions by agencies.

Several other RSGers contributed to attendees' presentation/poster abstracts, including Abigail Rosenson, Rachel Schmidt, and Stephen Lawe. The Conference on Advancing Transportation Equity will occur from September 9 to September 14 and begin at 10:00 a.m. ET on each date with several presentations/poster sessions occurring on each day.

Johanna Zmud, PhD, joins RSG as a Principal and brings 30 years of experience in transportation research, data, technology, and policy. Her recent work has examined public acceptance and socioeconomic impacts of connected and automated vehicles, sociodemographic trends, future travel behavior analysis, and the impacts of technology on society. Johanna's experience and expertise will help us continue to support clients' growing needs around transportation technology and emerging mobility.

Despite the challenges created by the pandemic, the renewable energy market has demonstrated its remarkable resiliency over the past year. In 2020, global investment in clean energy hit $500 billion for the first time. Our noise control engineering services have been integral to the recent approval of six projects totaling nearly 1.5 gigawatts (or 1,500 megawatts) of renewable energy in the United States. The following is a list of renewable energy project approvals in 2021; each of these relied on our noise impact assessment and expert testimony services.

Recent Renewable Energy Project Approvals

Plum Creek Wind Facility. This 414-megawatt wind project received approval in August 2021 and comprises 74 turbines along with a 31-mile transmission line. The project will generate hundreds of clean energy jobs and tax revenues for local counties.

Nobles Wind Farm. This 201-megawatt wind project received approval in July 2021. This project was unique in that it was an existing wind farm that the facility's operator (Xcel Energy Inc) sought approval to repower. Repowering a wind farm involves replacing the hubs and blades of each turbine.

Emerson Creek Wind Farm. This 297-megawatt wind project received approval in June 2021. Some of the power generated by this facility, which Firelands Wind developed, will power a nearby Google data center.

Morris Ridge Solar Project. This 177-megawatt solar project will help put New York State on the path toward obtaining 70% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030. This was also one of the first projects in the state to follow the new “94-C” process designed to speed up approvals of renewable energy projects.

Arche Energy Project. This 107-megawatt solar project received approval in April 2021. Sponsored by 7X Energy, this project will help increase solar capacity in the state of Ohio, which is expected to see rapid growth in its solar energy market over the next five years.

Yellowbud Solar Project. This 274-megawatt solar project received approval in February 2021. Sponsored by Yellowbud Solar LLC, the project is expected to occupy approximately 1,383 acres once complete.

We applaud the continued shift toward clean and renewable energy generation and congratulates each of our clients on receiving final project approval.