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2017 COTA BOD Election - Result

Dear COTA Members and Friends:

The online election of 2017 COTA Board of Directors was closed at 12:00 AM (Eastern Time) on December 22nd. The election results are downloaded from the E-Voting site and shown as the followings:

COTA BOD Member:

Candidate Name Percent Rank
Dr. Jianming Ma 71.15% 1
Dr. Ning Li 28.85% 2


Bases on the above result, Dr. Jianming Ma is elected as the BOD member. He will serve on the BOD for two years starting from the time of the COTA BOD meeting on January 8, 2017 during 2017 TRB Annual Meeting.

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Ma. We wish his great success in his future endeavor to serve on the COTA BOD.

We also thank Dr. Ning Li for his strong enthusiasm and willingness to provide service to COTA. And we all best wish he continue to support COTA in the future.

Finally, special gratitude goes to all COTA members who have casted their ballots under their busy schedules.


                                    2017 COTA BOD Members Election Committee

2017 COTA BOD Election - Rules

Dear COTA Members:

This web page is dedicated to 2017 COTA BOD Members Election.

Election Period: Dec. 6th 2016 12:00 AM (Tuesday) - Dec. 22nd 2016 12:00 AM (Thursday)

On-line Election (E-Voting):

COTA continues to take advantage of the on-line E-Voting tool (http://www.ballotbin.com/) to run the BOD election.

The on-line E-Voting system ensures the privacy of each voter (e.g., nobody, including the election administrator, will be able to view the voting result and the voter status while the election is still open, and the E-Voting system does not record any information of who voted for whom). For additional information regarding the privacy issues of the on-line E-Voting system, please check the Privacy Statement and the FAQ for voters at the E-Voting hosting website.

Voting Guidance:

1. Only the active COTA members who have registered and paid the 2016 COTA membership fee by October 1, 2016 are eligible for voting, and will receive a notice.
2. Each voter will receive an email notification directly from the E-Voting system with the on-line voting web link as the election begins. Please keep in mind to check that notification in your mail box and also junk mail box in case you won’t see it. Please clicking the web link to be provided in the notification email, and cast your ballot by following the direction at the voting page.
3. Please be aware of that the E-Voting system allows you to vote once only. Once your ballot is submitted, no modification is permitted.
4. For any questions, please feel free to contact the election administrator via email at kyang2005@gmail.com.


                                    2017 COTA BOD Members Election Committee

2017 COTA BOD Election - Candidates

COTA has one regular BOD member vacancies to fill in. We have the following four eligible applicants:

Candidate Name Current Position Current Affiliate Endorsement
Dr. Ning Li State Traffic Asset Engineer Virginia Department of Transportation Dr. Yinhai Wang, University of Washington (MEM)
Dr. Guohui Zhang, New Mexico University (BOD)
Dr. Zhen(Sean) Qian, Carnegie Melon University (BOD)
Dr. Shanjiang Zhu, George Mason University (BOD)
Dr. Jianming Ma Transportation Engineer Texas Department of Transportation Dr. Yinhai Wang (Past COTA President), University of Washington (MEM)
Mr. Jason Wang (Past COTA President), ARC (MEM)
Dr. Ping Yi (Past COTA President), The University of Akron (MEM)
Dr. Guohui Zhang (COTA BOD), University of Hawaii at Manoa (BOD)
Dr. Lei Yu (Past COTA President), Texas Southern University (MEM)
Dr. Yu Zhang (COTA President), The University of South Florida (BOD)

(BOD) - Current COTA Board Member (2016)
(MEM) - Current COTA Member (2016)

COTA BOD Candidate - Ning, Li, PhD, PE, PMP

Dr. Ning Li, PE, PMP


State Traffic Asset Engineer
Virginia Department of Transportation
1401 E Broad St
Richmond, VA 23233
Email: ning.li@vdot.virginia.gov

Dear COTA Members and Board Member Election Committee:

I would like to nominate myself to run for the election of 2017 COTA Board of Directors. As an overseas Chinese transportation processional, I benefited significantly from the knowledge and friendships of many COTA members and also helped many fellow Chinese advance their transportation career. With my qualifications and experience, I hope I could give back and bring fresh perspectives to the Board of Directors to better serve COTA members.

Personal Profile:

I am currently the State Traffic Asset Engineer with the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and oversee the state’s traffic asset program. In this capacity, I manage $20M annual traffic asset programs and am responsible for providing technical guidance, project delivery support, financial needs assessment, data analysis, and performance management of the state’s over $4.5 billion worth of traffic assets including ADA curb ramps, signals, guardrails, ancillary structures etc.

Prior to my current role, I worked as a Senior Engineer in VDOT’s safety program. My previous experience also includes an engineer position with Minnesota DOT in its design, traffic, safety and innovative contracting offices. I am a Fellow of Institute of Transportation Engineer (ITE), a Professional Traffic Operation Engineer (PTOE), and served on multiple expert panels of ITE and the Transportation Research Board (TRB).

My education background includes dual bachelor degrees in Civil Engineering and Economics (With Honors) and a master in management from the Tsinghua University. I also earned master and Ph.D. degrees in transportation engineering from the University of Minnesota and the University of Virginia respectively.

Accomplishments and Awards:

I have been recognized for some of my work accomplishments by being the first Chinese winner for several national transportation awards. In 2009, I identified and addressed a defect in the current national standards of Roadway Departure (RD) crashes. As a result, FHWA released a new technical memorandum to improve RD crash data. Not only were my suggestions adopted in this memo, FHWA staff also acknowledged my “significant contributions to this important highway safety effort”. I was therefore awarded the 2009 ITE Past President Award for Merit in Transportation. Most recently, I was recognized by AASHTO with the 2016 Transportation Vanguard Award for innovation and was invited to present VDOT’s innovative work in front of 200 executives of 51 state DOTs and industry leaders.

Track Record of Contributing to Chinese Transportation Community:

I have a strong track record of contributing to the Chinese transportation community. As the first Chinese with a H1-B visa in VDOT, I have directly helped over a dozen fellow Chinese to get job offers within and outside VDOT and provided career help to well over a hundred young professionals. I personally extended job offers to four highly qualified fellow Chinese transportation professionals and currently have three working in my team. I also helped arrange visits of Chinese delegations from Chinese universities, research institutions and provincial governor’s office and contributed to many COTA events such as serving as a panelist in 2016 winter symposium. I developed and taught the first employee-organized PE refresher course in VDOT and helped many to pass this important exam. My contributions have been recognized by many fellow COTA members and professional organizations such as TUMU Salon in DC.

Vision Statement:

COTA’s 20 years coincide with the amazing growth of Chinese overseas transportation professionals. We have made significance strides in academia arena as evidenced in many outstanding achievements by our faculty members and our incredible participation in each year’s Transportation Research Board (TRB) meeting. Despite these achievements, we still face the challenge of “bamboo ceiling” and are significantly under-represented in management and executive levels as well as in government entities. Also, most students receive academia-focused training in school but majority of them will end up in a non-academia career. How to increase their competitiveness in job market while in school and better prepare them for future career success remains a great challenge to us.

I believe my experience and qualifications lend themselves well to help COTA tackle these challenges. If elected, I will work with other BOD members to help advance the following agendas: Improve career guidance and network channels to help professionals at different stage of their career; Strengthen COTA’s ties with industry, government entities, professional and international organizations; and take all other measures to help increase the voice and influence of Chinese Transportation Professionals in the overall transportation profession.

Your help and support for my election is greatly appreciated.

Endorsement:
Dr. Yinhai Wang (COTA Member), Professor, University of Washington;
Dr. Guohui Zhang (COTA BOD Member), Assistant Professor, New Mexico University;
Dr. Shanjiang Zhu (COTA BOD Member), Assistant Professor, George Mason University;
Dr. Zhen(Sean) Qian (COTA BOD Member), Assistant Professor, Carnegie Melon University.

COTA BOD Candidate - Dr. Jianming Ma

Jianming Ma
Dr. Jianming Ma
Guohui, Zhang Candidate Information

Dr. Jianming Ma, P.E.


Traffic Operations Division
Texas Department of Transportation
9500 N. Lake Creek Parkway
Austin, TX 78717
Tel: (512) 923-6456
Email: mjming@gmail.com


BIOGRAPHICAL SUMMARY

Jianming Ma holds a Ph.D. degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Ma coordinates connected and automated vehicle activities at the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), whether demonstration, pilot projects, national studies and university research. Dr. Ma has over twenty years of professional and research experience in connected and automated vehicle (CAV), econometric modeling, human factors, intelligent transportation systems (ITS), and traffic safety. He has over 40 technical papers and reports published in the above mentioned areas. He is the Research Coordinator for the Transportation Research Board (TRB) Committee on Safety Data, Analysis and Evaluation (ANB20) and a member of SAE DSRC Technical Committee. He also sits on TRB’s Traffic Speed and Safety – Cross-cutting Issues Joint Subcommittee (ANB20-5) and TRB Active Traffic Management Joint Subcommittee (AHB20-5). Dr. Ma has been invited to serve on numerous research panels such as TxDOT, the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP), the Strategic Highway Research Program 2 (SHRP2), the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) CAV Working Group, the Vehicle to Infrastructure (V2I) Deployment Coalition, and the Connected Vehicle Pooled Fund Study (CVPFS). Dr. Ma serves as Edit-in-Chief for the International Journal of Vehicular Telematics and Infotainment Systems (IJVTIS) development.

QUALIFICATION & CONTRIBUTION

Active in COTA committees, conferences, and activities, Dr. Ma has been strongly promoting cooperation and collaboration between overseas transportation professionals and their counterparts in China. Since he was elected to the COTA Board of Directors (BOD) in 2011, Dr. Ma has successfully organized and chaired a number of international conferences, workshops, and symposiums. For example, Dr. Ma served as the Chair of the Organizing and Executive Committee for both CICTP2012 and CICTP2014. As COTA Vice President, Dr. Ma chaired the CICTP2016 Sponsorship Committee and raised more than $15,000 to sponsor and support CICTP2016. During his tenure as COTA Treasurer, he revamped COTA financial rules to more effectively manage the COTA financial operations, better assist administrative needs, and more timely manage cash flow for all COTA activities and events; Dr. Ma has also served as a bridge between COTA and governmental agencies, associations as well as research institutions in China to promote COTA, and expand its global influence and reputation; he has provided numerous support and guidance to the organizing committees of COTA summer conferences and winter symposiums.


QUALIFICATION & CONTRIBUTION

I don’t know if you have read COTA Mission Statement, but that statement resonates with me. A loose quote from the statement is “the main objectives of COTA include:

  1. Enhance connections among Chinese transportation professionals;
  2. Promote transport development China;
  3. Improve networking and collaboration among COTA members; and
  4. Serve as a platform to exchange information and knowledge among transportation professionals.
I envision that COTA will continue leading overseas Chinese transportation professionals to help address transportation challenges and contribute to better qualtify of life for our soceity. I am very passionate about our transportation profession and COTA. My term as the COTA board member is ending in January 2017. I hope to continue using my experience and passion to advance COTA as a strong leader in overseas Chinese transportation communities, a primary information and knowledge base, and a platform for networking and professional collaboration. With strong connections in both the U.S. and China, I can help promote COTA and expand its global influence and reputation. Contributing to COTA has been very rewarding, I look forward to an opportunity of continuing serving on the COTA BOAD. If I had the opportunity, I would work closely with other COTA board members, COTA members and other Chinese transportation groups in continuing to carry on COTA’s success and growth.

Please feel free to contact me at mjming@gmail.com or (512) 923-6456 if any additional information is needed.

Endorsement:
Dr. Yinhai Wang (Past COTA President), Professor, The University of Washington;
Mr. Jason Wang (Past COTA President), Senior Transportation Specialist, ARC;
Dr. Ping Yi (Past COTA President), Professor, The University of Akron;
Dr. Guohui Zhang (COTA BOD), Assistant Professor, University of Hawaii at Manoa;
Dr. Lei Yu (Past COTA President), Professor, Texas Southern University;
Dr. Yu Zhang (COTA President), Associate Professor, The University of South Florida.

COTA BOD Election - Call for Nominee for 2017 COTA BODs

Dear COTA Members:

The Board of Directors (BOD) of Chinese Overseas Transportation Association (COTA) is seeking a highly-qualified candidate to fill in one vacant Regular Member position on the BOD. The responsibility of this new board member will be assigned after the election.

The new positions will take effect on January 8, 2017 at the COTA BOD meeting in Washington DC during the 2016 TRB annual meeting. If you desire to be part of our BOD with strong willingness to contribute to the continuing success and growth of COTA, please send your self-nomination information to the 2017 COTA Board Member Election Committee that consists of the following members:

The deadline for nomination is Friday, December 2, 2016.

Each nominee must obtain endorsements from at least three active COTA Members, including at least one current BOD Member NOT serving on the election committee. (http://cota-home.org/Organization_Board_Officers.html). Each nominee must submit a written statement (no more than 2 pages) stating his or her qualifications and envisioned commitment.

To be an eligible candidate for election, the nominee must be a COTA Member who has paid 2016 Annual membership by October 1, 2016. For other eligibility requirements, please refer to COTA Bylaws http://cota-home.org/About_ByLaws.html.

According to COTA Bylaws 4.1.1, “No more than one (1) candidate from the same organizational entity is permitted to run the election at one time. No candidate is allowed from an organizational entity that currently has an active BOD member who will continuously serve after the election. Association, at the judge of the BOD, is not eligible for election.”

The nominee will be informed if he or she is eligible and becomes a candidate for the election by December 5, 2016. The election will be held online between December 6 and December 22, 2016.

For questions regarding the nomination or election, please contact the Election Committee.

Lei Zhang, Heng Wei, Yafeng Yin, and Ken Yang
2017 COTA Board Member Election Committee
Chinese Overseas Transportation Association