Barkan Honored for Rail Contributions

4/24/2012

The National Association of Railroad Passengers presents Professor Christopher Barkan with the Association’s Academic Award.

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Yeh Center
Yeh Center
The National Association of Railroad Passengers (NARP) presented Professor Christopher Barkan with the Association’s Academic Award today, for a career dedicated to promoting the understanding of railroad engineering and advancing rail technology.

Barkan is the Director of the department's Railroad Engineering Program.  Under his leadership, the University of Illinois has expanded the rail curriculum from one course to six, making it the largest of any North American university.  In 2010, Barkan and his colleagues added a course on High-Speed Rail Engineering—a significant step in the development of an American high-speed rail industry.

“Dr. Barkan has created something special in Urbana-Champaign, and you can see that in the high level of demand for the program’s graduates,” said NARP President
Ross Capon.  “The Railroad Engineering Program is the nation’s premier incubator for the next generation of men and women who will keep
America’s rail network strong.  Dr. Barkan’s efforts to make clear the need to expand similar capabilities at other universities are helping the nation by enhancing the industry’s ability to meet its huge human resources challenges.”

NARP established its Academic Award in 2011, to recognize university and college professors who have excelled in developing and promoting knowledge of passenger train transportation in the United States and
Canada.  This is the second time this award has been presented.

Barkan will be honored at a reception held on Capitol Hill this evening, which will be attended by Congressmen, U.S. Department of Transportation officials, railroad executives, and passenger rail advocates from across the country.

NARP is the largest citizen-based organization advocating for train and rail transit passengers. Since 1967, the organization has worked to expand the quality and quantity of passenger train service in the
U.S. Its mission is to work toward a modern, customer-focused national passenger train network that provides a travel choice for Americans. More than 20,000 individual members make up NARP.

 


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This story was published April 24, 2012.