news>>news Archive>>Marty wachs Honored at retirement party (Party Photo Album)
ITS faculty, staff, researchers, and Caltrans executives paid tribute
to former ITS Director Martin Wachs, Professor of City and Regional Planning
and Civil and Environmental Engineering, who retired from academia in
December to take a new post at the Rand Corporation.
Wachs (in far right of photo), who served as director of ITS from 1998 to 2005, and whose academic career stretched over 41 years, was honored at a party at the Faculty Club on October 28.
Samer Madanat, who succeeded Wachs as ITS director, lauded his predecessor for expanding the “breadth and depth” of ITS in numerous ways.
As one example, he described Wachs’ role in establishing the Traffic Safety Center. “We always did safety research, but it was spread out and not focused. Marty was able to pull it together and raise its profile in such a way that now we have a successful stream of projects attracting faculty, students, and researchers, as well as further funding.”
"I am extremely lucky to be stepping in after Marty’s term because he has left the Institute in superb shape,” Madanat told the crowd.
Madanat described Marty’s style as that of a mentor who helps others succeed. “When people ask what kind of director Marty was—a gardener or an empire builder—I tell them he was neither of these extremes. He helps other people to succeed and grow their own gardens.”
Wachs, with characteristic modesty, responded that he had hoped to do much more when he became director, but was stymied by the recession, budget cuts, and reorganization at the university. Rather than conferring benefits on ITS, he said the Institute benefited him in many ways, saying it really helped his career “blossom.” He said he expects to maintain a relationship with the university from his new post at the Rand Corporation in Los Angeles.
In addition to Madanat’s tribute, Randall Iwasaki, Chief Deputy Director of Caltrans, presented Wachs with its “Lifetime Achievement Award.”
Before assuming the directorship of ITS, Wachs was Professor of Urban Planning and Director of the Institute of Transportation Studies at UCLA. He holds a Bachelors Degree in Civil Engineering from the City University of New York, and MS and Ph.D. degrees in Transportation Planning from the Civil Engineering Department at Northwestern University.
Wachs has authored four books and more than 130 papers on transportation. During his career he was an active participant on numerous Transportation Research Board committees, and in 2000 was named chairman of the organization’s executive committee . He has received many awards, including the Council of University Transportation Centers (CUTC) Award for Distinguished Contribution to University Transportation Education and Research, as well as the W.N. Carey, Jr. Award, which honors individuals who have provided leadership and distinguished service to the Transportation Research Board.
