Robert Wunderlich has been named the acting director for the Center for Transportation Safety (CTS) at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI). Wunderlich is taking over for John Mounce who retired in August.
Mounce’s career in transportation engineering spans more than three decades. In that time he authored numerous research studies, served as a lecturer at Texas A&M University and a professor at Montana State University, and led the center for 10 years.
“John has significantly increased TTI’s national prominence in safety research,” said Dennis Christiansen, TTI Agency Director. “As the director of our legislatively created safety center for the last decade, he has been instrumental in establishing the Institute’s reputation for providing safer roadways and protecting vehicle occupants. He has devoted his life’s work to saving the lives of others, and he will be missed. We wish John the very best in his retirement.”
Wunderlich formerly served as the City of Garland’s senior managing director for transportation, streets, engineering and stormwater. He assumed his new responsibility at TTI on July 9 and will be leading the various research programs for the center and promoting the center’s work to all of its internal and external stakeholder groups.
“We are extremely pleased that Robert is joining TTI,” says Bill Stockton, Executive Associate Agency Director. “His outstanding reputation and real-world experiences make him an ideal addition to our strong team. We are enthusiastic about the unique attributes that Robert brings to the Institute and look forward to a long and valuable relationship with him.
Wunderlich has held positions at the City of Austin, the City of Arlington and Barton-Aschman Associates, Inc., an engineering consulting firm in Dallas. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering from the University of Tennessee. He is a past international president of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) and was named the Transportation Engineer of the Year by the Texas District of ITE in 2007.
Wunderlich’s appointment brings him full circle in his career, returning to TTI where he worked as an engineering research associate from 1982 until 1984. He has maintained his connection with TTI since that time in a variety of ways, most recently by helping bring TTI’s Teens in the Driver Seat® program to all the high schools in Garland, Texas, in 2006.
“I feel that this new position is a unique opportunity to use my experience and skills to make a difference in the lives of Texans, Americans and others across the globe,” Wunderlich says, “by helping to provide safer roadways and safer vehicle occupants and by understanding and developing programs for high-risk groups.