Virginia Tech assistant professor Lisa Schweitzer appointed to national transportation research organization

Lisa Schweitzer, assistant professor of urban affairs and planning in the College of Architecture and Urban Studies at Virginia Tech, recently returned from the Roads and the Environment seminar, hosted by the International Road Federation in Geneva, Switzerland. Schweitzer served as a panelist at this meeting, which brought together specialists in sustainable development, urban planning, environment, road construction, infrastructure planning, science, and government to debate the influence of roads on the environment and to examine how to reduce harmful impacts. Policy makers and practitioners discussed and debated the transport sector, acknowledging the social role and environmental consequences of transport. Schweitzer’s lecture involved the urban transportation scenario, scarce road space, and issues facing mega cities.

Upon her return, Schweitzer accepted a three-year appointment to Women’s Issues in Transportation--a committee affiliated with the Transportation Research Board (TRB). The board itself is a division of the National Research Council (NRC), a private, nonprofit institution that provides expertise in science and technology to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The NRC is jointly administered by the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.

Schweitzer, of Blacksburg, Va., received her doctoral degree from the University of California, Los Angeles; and a master of science, a master of arts, and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Iowa.

The College of Architecture and Urban Studies is one of the largest of its type in the nation. The college is composed of three schools and the Department of Art and Art History, part of the multi-college School of the Arts. The School of Architecture + Design includes programs in architecture, industrial design, interior design, and landscape architecture. The School of Public and International Affairs includes programs in urban affairs and planning, public administration and policy, and government and international affairs. The Myers-Lawson School of Construction, a joint school of the College of Architecture and Urban Studies and the College of Engineering, includes programs in building construction and construction management. The college enrolls more than 2,000 students offering 25 degrees taught by 160 faculty members.