Robert Paaswell, Ph.D. currently serves as Director of the federally supported University Transportation Research Center at the City College of New York. A consortium of 12 major U.S. academic institutions, the Center plays a significant role in the region and nationally, conducting research and projects on surface transportation, carrying out training and educational programs and actively disseminating the results of its work. Dr. Paaswell has been named Director of the City University Institute for Urban Systems, a major University-wide initiative to examine the intersection of new technology, changing institutional structure and innovative finance on the provision of infrastructure in the 21st century. He also serves as a Distinguished Professor of Civil Engineering at CCNY.
Dr. Paaswell is extremely active in public transportation issues and consulting. He has reported on governance structures for U.S. transit organizations, public/private issues in New York and Chicago, and on labor union/management issues. Most recently he served as an advisor to the Israeli government concerning restructuring of their bus companies, and issues of competition. He currently serves as Chairman of the Board of the Transit Standards Consortium - a new professional group addressing the problems of integration of high technology into public transit systems. Previously he served as Executive Director (CEO) of the Chicago Transit Authority, the nation's second largest transit company.