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The Transportation Research Board has named Anne Aylward as the 2027 recipient of the Frank Turner Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Transportation.
A nationally recognized expert in freight and intermodal transportation planning, policy analysis, and operations, Aylward is recognized for nearly 50 years of transportation experience and public service. Her career includes senior leadership of the U.S. DOT Volpe National Transportation Systems Center and the Port of Boston, as well as sustained contributions to transportation technology, innovation, freight, and intermodal policy.
The Frank Turner Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Transportation is a biennial award established in 1998 by a group of friends, colleagues, and admirers of Frances C. (Frank) Turner to honor him and to commemorate his extraordinary accomplishments in the development and construction of the U.S. transportation system. Turner was the initial recipient of the award in January 1999. The award recognizes lifetime achievement in transportation, demonstrated by a distinguished career in the field, professional prominence, and a distinctive, widely recognized contribution to transportation policy, administration, or research.
The award will be presented on Wednesday, January 13, 2027, during the Chair’s Plenary Session portion of the TRB Annual Meeting, January 10-14, 2027, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.
Aylward retired in September 2024 after 30 years of service at the U.S. DOT Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, including eight years as director. As director, she led the work of nearly 700 engineers, planners, and analysts engaged in a $250 million portfolio of transportation technology and innovation projects. She was the Center’s seventh permanent director since its inception in 1970 and the first woman to hold the position.