Bob Parsons

PATH Pays Tribute to its Founding Director
Robert E. Parsons

Robert Parsons, the founding Director of the California PATH Program, passed away on October 26th, 2005 at his residence in Virginia. Bob Parsons is remembered for his vision in founding the California PATH Program, his involvement in the establishment of an Intelligent Transportation Systems program in the United States and his leadership in innovating transportation systems in the United States.

Bob Parsons had over 40 years of advanced-transportation experience in private industry, government and academia. He contributed much in conceiving and developing innovative systems and applying system engineering methods, especially to facilitate acceptance of new and novel concepts by system stakeholders, who are generally reluctant to risk changing from the "business-as-usual" ways of providing service. He understood how individuals and organizations could pose challenges that thwart innovative solutions to many societal problems.

Bob Parsons began his career in private industry, working with the Cincinnati Milling Machine Company in Cincinnati, Ohio and The Martin Company in Baltimore, Maryland. After leaving The Martin Company, he joined the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), where he became a charter member of the Senior Executive Service (SES) and served as the Deputy Director of Supersonic Transport Development in the Federal Aviation Administration, Director of R&D Plans and Resources of the Office of the Secretary of DOT, and Associate Administrator for Research and Development in the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). He was responsible for high speed rail and Magnetic Levitation research programs, technical oversight of the DOT Transportation Test Center in Pueblo, Colorado and the National Bureau of Standards / Department of Commerce, where he directed a new "innovative policy initiative", the Experimental Technology Incentives Program, that in part led to key (i.e. Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act) federal initiatives to address U.S. technology leadership problems.

Bob Parsons retired from federal service and joined the University of California in 1981 to successfully pursue advanced technology initiatives in the more receptive California technology policy climate. After joining the University of California at Berkeley, Bob Parsons devoted his energy to developing innovative research programs. He worked on a railway research program for the first three years, helping California evaluate high speed rail alternatives. During a short leave from the University in 1984-1986, he managed the Las Vegas-Southern California Phase II Super Train Feasibility Study for the City of Las Vegas and the Federal Railroad Administration.

In 1986, Bob Parsons worked with the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and his colleagues at UC Berkeley's Institute of Transportation Studies to found the Program on Advanced Technology for the Highway (PATH), which was later renamed Partners for Advanced Transit and Highways, to explicitly include all modes of transportation. Bob Parsons established PATH's vision of using advanced technologies to address California's and the nation's traffic congestion problems. With his vigorous efforts, PATH and Caltrans played a key role in the establishment of Mobility 2000 and later the Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITSA). His vision of ITS became widely adopted by the transportation community and the PATH Program he established became the first research program on Intelligent Transportation Systems in the U.S. At PATH, Bob Parsons not only provided directions for ITS research but also participated in research with his colleagues. As an example, he was the co-inventor of the magnetic guidance technology which has been applied for vehicle guidance applications worldwide.

Through the last twenty years, Bob Parsons played a key role in national ITS developments. He was the first Chairman of the ITSA System Architecture Committee and in that role was the prime mover behind the development of the National ITS Architecture, which the US DOT has mandated for application to any federally-funded ITS projects. He also chaired the ITSA Interoperability Committee, which advocated one of the most important systems issues for ITS implementation. After he retired from UC Berkeley, Bob Parsons consulted for state and federal governments on ITS issues, providing advice to US DOT and the States of California and Virginia.

Bob's colleagues remember him as an inspiring leader, with a rare ability to define a large-scale vision and also understand the practical steps that need to be taken to advance it to reality. He was a warm and caring colleague and supervisor, giving generously of himself to others. All who knew him remember him as a man of great integrity who expressed his opinions candidly and without artifice or pretense. Bob maintained the highest standards of honesty and integrity, inspiring others to follow his example.

Please e-mail your memories of Bob Parsons to Bill Stone and we will publish them on our website.

Michael Kleiber and Seyem Petrites worked with Bob Parsons as Librarian and Database Manager for the PATH Bibliographic Database. They remember Bob as being very supportive in the development and growth of the Database. In the 1980s, it was especially rare to have an administrator take interest in an information product such as the Database. Bob's dedication and vision provided the foundation which enabled the Database to grow into a valuable and internationally-recognized resource on Intelligent Transportation Systems research.