Institute of Transportation Studies faculty member Carlos Daganzo has been named chair of the international advisory committee of the International Symposium on Transportation and Traffic Theory (ISTTT), the primary gathering for the world's experts in transportation and traffic theory.

Daganzo, who is Robert Horonjeff Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, was selected at the 2002 meeting, which was held at the University of South Australia in Adelaide in July. The "convenor," as the chair is termed, may hold the position until retirement.

The symposium, which is held every three years, is the oldest meeting devoted exclusively to the scientific aspects of transportation and traffic phenomena, and the proceedings define the international state of the art of research in transportation and traffic science. Topics range from traffic flow theory and travel demand modelling to road safety and logistics and supply chain modelling.

Daganzo's committee will suggest future directions for the symposiums as well as decide where the meetings will take place. The next symposium is scheduled for 2005 at the University of Maryland. In 2008, or possibly a year earlier, the symposium will be held in London.

"It's a little like the Olympics of traffic theory," he explained. "Just as the International Olympic Committee meets and chooses where the Olympics will be next and the rules of the game, our committee makes similar decisions."

Daganzo replaces Ezra Hauer, who served for six years until he retired as Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Toronto. Hauer, an alumnus of UC Berkeley, worked closely with the late Gordon Newell, UC Berkeley Professor Emeritus in Transportation Engineering.