The European Conference of Transport Research Institutes (ECTRI) is a leading network of European research institutions in the field of transport. ECTRI's goal is to promote scientific excellence and advance European transport research through cooperation, knowledge transfer, and joint projects. Members work across disciplines to find solutions to the major challenges of tomorrow's mobility, from sustainability and safety to digitalization and automation.
The AIT Austrian Institute of Technology continues to be prominently represented in ECTRI. With several newly elected and reappointed positions, AIT underscores its leading role in European transport research.
Isabela Erdelean (Senior Research Engineer, Center for Transport Technologies) was elected as the new head of the Thematic Group (TG) Safety. She has already been active as rapporteur for this group since 2019. In her new role, she will coordinate the group's activities, help shape relevant research topics, strengthen the visibility of ECTRI members in European initiatives and projects, and promote scientific exchange on topics such as safety culture, safe mobility for all, automation and digitalization safety implications, data collection and use and safety in intermodal/multimodal hubs.
Kristin Tovaas (Research Engineer, Center for Energy) has been elected rapporteur of the TG Mobility. With over ten years of experience in coordinating and conducting research in EU-funded research and innovation projects, she brings in-depth expertise in sustainable, inclusive, and accessible mobility. Her focus is on data-driven, innovative solutions for the urban and regional mobility transition, particularly through participatory processes and co-creation. In her role, she supports the strategic alignment of the TG Mobility with European research priorities and scientific exchange on topics such as active, shared, and multimodal mobility, land use transport interaction, and future-oriented mobility services.
Stefan Seer (Thematic Coordinator, Center for Energy) has been confirmed in his role as head of the TG Traffic Management and Modelling. He will continue to contribute to the strategic development of traffic modelling, control, and management within ECTRI. His focus will be on improving the efficiency of transport systems through automated mobility, cooperative transport systems, multimodal solutions, and the use of artificial intelligence in traffic management.
Wolfgang Ponweiser, also at AIT, has been active on the ECTRI board for several years and currently serves as vice president.
These appointments underscore AIT's active role in European transportation research and enable it to play a key role in shaping key future topics such as safety, sustainable mobility, and intelligent traffic control at the European level.