Civil Engineer Bingrong Sun is a researcher at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL’s) Center for Integrated Mobility Sciences in Golden, Colorado, and a member of TRB’s Standing Committee on Urban Transportation Data and Information Systems. Her work explores traveler preferences for new and emerging transportation technologies and their mobility and energy impacts.
How did you become involved with TRB?
I became involved with TRB during graduate school, presenting my research on personalized route-choice preference modeling at poster sessions and committee meetings. After graduating from the University of Virginia with a doctoral degree and becoming a postdoctoral researcher, then a staff researcher at NREL, I transitioned from being an Annual Meeting attendee and friend on committees to an active contributor. I joined the Urban Transportation Data and Information Systems Committee as a young member and helped with TRB activities, such as serving as a paper review coordinator and organizing a sustainable transportation workshop at the 2023 Innovations in Travel Analysis and Planning Conference.
What is your role as a member of the committee?
I started by gradually learning the committee’s responsibilities. As I became more involved, I contributed to tasks such as discussing the triennial strategic plan and helping to organize workshops and forums that address emerging urban transportation data topics: for example, the Travel Data Users Forum on teleworking and its impact at the 2024 TRB Annual Meeting. Recently, I began to take on additional responsibility as a research coordinator, which focuses on identifying critical research needs and submitting them to TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program for more research attention and support.
What do you find most helpful about TRB?
Being part of TRB—whether as a paper review coordinator or a workshop and forum volunteer—has given me insights into how things work behind the scenes and helped me build professional connections that have led to collaborations and broader research impacts. Being actively involved also fosters deeper engagement with other members, leading to meaningful discussions that have expanded my perspective and shaped my research direction.
How has your experience as a TRB volunteer influenced your career or outlook on the profession?
TRB is the largest community of transportation professionals, bringing together enthusiastic, brilliant individuals dedicated to creating efficient, sustainable, and safe transportation solutions. Being part of this group has exposed me to cutting-edge research and technology, providing opportunities to learn, grow, and contribute back to the TRB community.
Transportation Influencers highlight the journey of young professionals active in TRB. Have someone to nominate? Send an email to [email protected].
