Moving Ahead 2010 – OSU College of Engineering Hosts National Conference on Sustainable Transportation

Earlier this week major auto manufacturers, environmentalists, policy makers, politicians, researchers, and even a flash mob converged upon The Ohio State University campus for the first national conference on sustainable transportation.  The conference, Moving Ahead 2010, was presented by Ohio State and Clean Fuels Ohio to explore what transportation will look like in 100 years.  

The conference focused on a diverse set of topics including biofuels, electric transportation, the future of oil, mass transit, advances in air and train transportation, economic development, climate change and the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The conference fostered dialog among many stakeholders, some of whom hold conflicting opinions, about how we can move forward with sustainable transportation strategies.

Although many solutions were put forth and examined during the three-day conference, it is clear that the subject is too complex to lend itself to a single solution or solutions developed overnight. 

“Policy makers tend to proceed cautiously on solutions because of the billions of dollars invested in energy technologies,” said Mark Shanahan, Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland’s energy advisor.

Moving Ahead 2010 only scratched the surface of the topic of energy transformations; subsequent conferences will be needed to continue the advancement of sustainable transportation for the 21st Century. 

According to Dr. Greg Washington, interim dean of the College of Engineering, Ohio State was chosen to host the event because the university is a national leader in transportation and engineering sciences.  Attendees of the event, held in the new Student Union, were treated to a special lunchtime surprise when students broke out into a flash mob dance which featured Ohio State President, E. Gordon Gee.

For complete details on the three-day Moving Ahead 2010 conference, read the blog posts

To view the Flash Mob video, click here