- Favorite station or stop that you have ever visited or frequent (and why): I enjoy seeing the variety of transit stations and systems there are in the world. Going on self-tours of the St. Petersburg and Moscow heavy rail systems in Russia was beautiful from aesthetic and system efficiency perspectives and fascinating from a historical perspective. The train stations in the Netherlands provide impressive multimodal access and mobility for all users. Traveling through Morocco by bus ended up being a delicious culinary experience and a learning experience to always bring a blanket!
Alice Grossman recently completed her work as a senior policy analyst with Eno Center for Transportation and will be joining the American Association for Advancement of Science as a science and technology policy fellow in September.
Colleagues say Grossman blends her extensive engineering background, knowledge of policy and a passion for improving people's daily transportation options into her work. Grossman’s research has not only informed but also influenced transportation and transit policy at national, state and local levels.
For her master’s work, Grossman focused on sidewalk quality for universal design. This focus continues as she incorporates disability access into her research and policy work. Grossman also earned a Ph.D. with a focus on performance-based planning at the metropolitan planning organization level and her research into performance measurement in transportation continues.
At Eno, Grossman led the research program on transit technology, innovation and policy. Her research focused on technology in the context of mobility-on-demand, automation, connectivity and electrification. The aim is to help transit agencies improve the quality and efficiency of their service.
Grossman has authored two policy papers on these topics, which address contracting and data sharing issues related to partnerships in transit. She has also led forthcoming research on connected, automated and electric buses and low-speed automated shuttles.
Just as she is dedicated to researching and evaluating transportation to improve lives, she is equally dedicated to stoking interest in transportation engineering among underrepresented groups. As her nomination read: Her focus on women of minorities is an important one in a field where diversity and inclusivity can improve access and mobility for disadvantaged populations across the country and across the globe.
In addition to her commitment to mentoring the next generation of engineering and transportation policy leaders, Grossman serves on the Transportation Research Board’s Transit Management and Performance Committee and Pedestrian Committee.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
I love working in transportation because I can see the difference we make in many peoples’ everyday lives. Seeing someone’s commute improve to be safer, healthier or more enjoyable or giving more people more access to healthy food or jobs is the most rewarding aspect of working in transportation.
