Regular registration for Winter quarter begins

12:15 PM Registration and Networking - 70th Anniversary Industry Workshop

12:45 PM Welcome

Bret Johnson, Interim Director, NUTC

1:00 – 2:30 PM Session 1: Talent, Leadership, and Purpose in Preparation for the Next 30 Years

Moderator: Elsy Ocejo, Fractional COO/CSCO
J. Edward Colgate, Walter P. Murphy Professor of Mechanical Engineering; Allen and
Johnnie Breed Senior Professor in Design; Director, NSF Engineering Research Center
on Human AugmentatioN via Dexterity (HAND)
Xiaopeng Li, Harvey D. Spangler Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental
Engineering, Director, USDOT Rural Autonomous Vehicle Program for People Movement, University of Wisconsin, Madison

2:30 – 3:00 PM Break

3:00 – 3:30 PM Presentation: Retrospective of the Transportation Center over 7 Decades

Rachel Cole, Head of Northwestern Transportation Library

3:30 – 5:00 PM Session 2: 70 Years Forward: NUTC's Legacy and the Next Chapter in Transportation & Supply Chain Systems

Moderator: Joseph Schofer, Emeritus Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering,
McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science, Northwestern
Ben Mclean, CEO, Ruan Transportation Management Systems
Ian Savage, Associate Chair, Professor of Instruction, Department of Economics, Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, Northwestern
Karen Smilowitz, Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education, Northwestern; James N. and Margie M. Krebs Professor of Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences,
McCormick School of Engineering & Applied Science; Professor of Operations, Kellogg
School of Management
Jeff Silver, CEO, Master Logistics Systems; Chair, NUTC Business Advisory Council (BAC)
Justin Zubrod, Managing Partner, Justin Zubrod & Company; former Chair, NUTC BAC

Related Info

Register Now

While Northwestern celebrates its 175th Anniversary this year, the NUTC - Northwestern University Transportation Center is celebrating its 70th anniversary of operations. In 1954 the Northwestern Board of Trustees approved the establishment of the Center and in 1955 Franklin M. Kremil, who established the Traffic Institute of Northwestern in 1936, was named the acting director. The Center opened for formal operations on October 3, 1956.

Following the NUTC Fall 2026 Business Advisory Council & NUTC 70th Anniversary Dinner, NUTC's featured 70th Anniversary speaker is Karen Jones, Executive Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer & Head of New Product Development, Ryder System.

Her talk is titled – The Times They Are a Changin’.

This is an invitation only event.

Dissertation, PhD Final Exam, and change of grade forms due to TGS for Fall PhD candidates

Thanksgiving Vacation begins at 6:00 PM (No classes, University offices closed)

Fall Classes Resume

Fall classes end

Fall Exams begin

Fall exams end

The ceremony will take place on Saturday, December 12 in Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, 50 Arts Circle Drive.

Related Info

Winter Recess Starts - University Closed Through January 1st, 2027

Winter classes begin

No classes- Martin Luther King Jr. Day