Events

News & Events

MTI organizes or participates in several transportation-related events each year. These include national summits, regional forums, industry conferences, or special events and broadcasts. You can find leading transportation experts at all of these events, making them an excellent resource not only for professional and research insights, but also for networking. You can review our past events.

The Mineta Transportation Institute is deeply involved with many surface transportation issues. Our experts are available to speak with the news media about many topics, including autonomous vehicles, bicycle and pedestrian safety, congestion, high-speed rail, intermodal connectivity, public transit, transportation planning and policy, transportation security, and workforce issues.

For media requests, please contact:

Alverina Weinardy
Director of Operations
alverina.weinardy@sjsu.edu
408-924-7566

Hilary Nixon
Deputy Executive Director
hilary.nixon@sjsu.edu
408-924-7564

Dates	Events
March 5, 2025 to March 9, 2025	Fresno International Transportation Innovations / S.T.E.P. Summit 2025 - Valdez Hall, Fresno, CA The Fresno International Transportation Innovations / S.T.E.P. Summit 2025 is a global conference, assembling leaders in the transportation energy sector, along with policymakers, engineers, and advocates for sustainable transportation worldwide. The goal of the 2025 S.T.E.P. Summit is to promote innovations in sustainable transportation design, planning, and policy, focusing on alternative energy like hydrogen, biofuels, and electrification. To learn more about this Summit, visit the event website. *MTI is a proud co-sponsor of this event.
March 5, 2025	Berlin, Beijing, Bakersfield: Station Design Insights for U.S. Rail - Online 12:00-1:00p.m. (PT) \| Link to register. On the Right Track: The Transformative Potential of Rail Discover the secrets behind over 50 years of global high-speed rail innovation in MTI’s newest webinar series! Explore station planning, station design development best practices, and groundbreaking projects from France, Germany, and Spain, featuring actionable insights from expert speakers. Join us as we explore how international high-speed rail success can guide U.S. professionals to shape the future of transit in our communities. This webinar series is co-sponsored by APTA High-Speed & Intercity Passenger Rail Committee, California High-Speed Rail Authority, High Speed Rail Alliance, and US High Speed Rail Association. Webinars include: Webinar #1 \| December 11, 2024 \| The French Case: Stations as City Boosters Webinar #2 \| January 15, 2025 \| The Spanish Case: Transformacion Rápida Webinar #3 \| February 12, 2025 \| The German Case: Rail Stations to Connect the World Webinar #4 \| March 5, 2025 \| Berlin, Beijing, Bakersfield: Station Design Insights for U.S. Rail Webinar #4 - Berlin, Beijing, Bakersfield: Station Design Insights for U.S. Rail Join us for the final installment of our webinar series On the Right Track: The Transformative Potential of Rail! This session features expert insights from Eric Eidlin, Station Planning Manager for the City of San Jose, and Heidi Sokolowsky, Founding Partner at Urban Field Studio. Both Eric and Heidi have worked on and learned from passenger rail transit projects in the U.S. and Europe for over two decades. Eric and Heidi will summarize some of the key takeaways from the past three webinars in the series and reflect upon and ask how global insights from world-class station design can influence the future of multimodal transit in California, the U.S., and beyond. They will also consider how recent federal policy shifts could influence the trajectory of high-speed rail projects in the U.S. Don’t miss this opportunity to join the conversation shaping the future of rail! Featured Guests: Eric Eidlin, Station Planning Manager, City of San José Department of Transportation Heidi Sokolowsky, Founding Partner, Urban Field Studio 1 PDH credit available Presenters:* Eric Eidlin & Heidi Sokolowsky
March 10, 2025	ITS California NorCal Spring Meeting - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library, San Jose State University, Meeting Room 225 11:00am-1:00pm \| Link to Register. Join ITS California and MTI for an exciting on-campus luncheon event exploring the future of human-AI interaction in transportation! This event will feature opening remarks from MTI’s Executive Director Dr. Karen Philbrick and Gary Carlin from ITSCA. Featured speakers include industry leaders from Caltrans and Dr. Gaojian Huang, who will use real-life case studies to discuss his research “Beyond Automation: The Future of Human-AI Interaction in Transportation.” Join us March 3rd 11:00am-1:00pm in the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library, Meeting Room 225. Attendance costs include sandwiches (with vegetarian options) and drinks. Public sector and academic professionals ($10) and private sector professionals ($20) are invited—and students attend FREE! *MTI is a proud co-sponsor of this event.
March 11, 2025	Electrifying Transit: Zero-Emission Buses in the U.S. - Online 12:00-12:30p.m. (PT) \| Link to register. Major challenges leave agencies and transit bus manufacturers facing uncertainty as the U.S. public transportation sector charges ahead into a zero-emission future. Join Leah Foecke and Zachary Karson of global infrastructure advisory firm Rebel Group and authors of a recent MTI publication to explore obstacles and insights in the US transit bus market. The discussion will focus on key industry dynamics, financial challenges with zero-emission bus (ZEB) acquisition, technological barriers in deployment, and regulatory issues. Don’t miss the opportunity to hear insights on this rapidly evolving market easing transit into a more sustainable future! Presenters: Leah Foecke, MS, MTI Researcher & Manager, Rebel Group Zachary Karson, MS, MTI Researcher & Manager, Rebel Group Moderator: Karen Philbrick, PhD, Executive Director, Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI) 0.5 PDH credit available Add event to your calendar. Presenters:* Leah Foecke, Zachary Karson, Dr. Karen Philbrick
April 5, 2025	K-12 Railroad Model Competition 2024/2025 The Fresno State Transportation Institute designed the Railroad Model Competition to be an accessible and enjoyable educational experience, helping students and teachers to build a better future in transportation sciences. This competition is divided into 3 grade levels; Upper Elementary, Middle, and High schools. Each grade level will have 10 teams per grade and teams of up to 10 students and at least one faculty member or club advisor. This competition will also show the creativity of the teams in designing their own railroad track models in a way that is fuel and cost-efficient and minimum time traveled. However, for this to happen, we would need coaches and mentors to devote at least an hour per week in working with other schools. Those who are transportation professional will be assigned as coaches. Those who are railroad modelers will be assigned as mentors. The registration for the railroad competition is now open. Please check this webpage periodically for updates. *MTI is a proud co-sponsor of this competition.
May 21, 2025	2025 MSTM Capstone Showcase - Online 5:30-8:30p.m. (PT) \| Link to Register. Join students from the Master of Science in Transportation Management program at San José State University as they present their final capstone research projects. This interactive event will provide opportunities to meet with the students and learn about their research on critical transportation management challenges. Add event to your calendar.
October 6, 2025	2nd Annual Southern Colorado Transportation Conference - Colorado State University Pueblo’s Occhiato Student Center (OSC), 2200 Bonforte Blvd, Pueblo, CO 81001 8:00a.m.-3:00p.m. (MT) \| Link to register. Join transportation professionals and researchers for the 2nd Annual Southern Colorado Transportation Conference (SCTC) to explore this year’s theme: Climate Resiliency for Railroad Infrastructure. We will gather for a full-day conference and poster session on Monday, October 6, 2025 at Colorado State University Pueblo’s Ochiatto Student Center (OSC) Ballroom. To learn more about this Conference, visit the event website. Add event to your calendar. *MTI is a proud co-sponsor of this event.