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Dr. Christopher P.L. Barkan, professor and George Krambles Director of the Rail Transportation and Engineering Center (RailTEC) in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, in the Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, is the 2025 recipient of the Robert E. Skinner, Jr. Distinguished Transportation Research Management Award. He is recognized for his nearly four decades-long career advancing research, safety, and operational capacity in the nation’s rail transportation industry.
Barkan teaches courses in railroad transportation engineering, railway signaling and operation, advances in rail technology, and graduate seminars on a wide range of rail transportation topics. Since joining the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, he and his colleagues expanded the rail curriculum from one course to ten—the most extensive rail program in North America. He also works with colleagues across the country to expand rail transportation and engineering academic programs and opportunities nationwide.
The Transportation Research Board’s (TRB) Executive Committee established the Robert E. Skinner, Jr. Distinguished Transportation Research Management Award to recognize outstanding achievement in the management, administration, promotion, fostering, and implementation of transportation research. The award honors Robert E. Skinner, Jr., who served TRB for more than 30 years, including 21 years as its executive director from 1994 to 2015.
The award will be presented on Jan. 14, 2026, during the Chair’s Plenary Session of the TRB Annual Meeting, Jan. 11–15, 2026, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.