SAS is latest firm to join Wake Forest-based Advanced Mobility Collective

SAS joins a growing number of business and government partners in The Collective to accelerate new uses of vehicles on the ground, in the air and at sea – all moving toward autonomous vehicles and systems. Jim Trogdon, who orchestrated many advanced mobility initiatives as the leader of the N.C. Department of Transportation, is a SAS principal transportation consultant for the U.S. commercial and public sector. Trogdon will join the AMC Advisory Board. Katy Salamati, a SAS senior transportation and infrastructure consultant, is joining the AMC Experts in Residence team.

“As an innovator in analytics for more than four decades, SAS is at the forefront of advancing technology,” said Todd Spain, executive director of the Advanced Mobility Collective. “Transportation and mobility, the movement of people and goods, is evolving rapidly. SAS is an important partner in this collaborative effort helping us all focus on the digital infrastructure – data, communications and physical infrastructure – to advance smart transportation and mobility. We are fortunate to have SAS leaders help us develop real-world examples to showcase the transformational opportunities taking shape now, initially focused on healthcare and emergency management to respond to disasters.”

Trogdon led the N.C. Department of Transportation from 2017 until his retirement in 2020. He served almost three decades at the department, including five years as the chief operating officer. Earlier in his career, he worked with the N.C. General Assembly as director of strategic transportation. Trogdon also has 36 years of military service, a majority in the National Guard and retired in 2016 as a major general and deputy adjutant general for the N.C. National Guard.

“Transportation innovation is accelerating with the convergence of 5G wireless connectivity and massive data from the Internet of Things merged with connected air and ground vehicles,” Trogdon said. “The vehicles are evolving into autonomous smart machines which will rely on analytics, artificial intelligence and edge computing to revolutionize mobility for people and freight. We are excited to be a part of the AMC community and collaborating with other members to bring these ideas to market.”

Salamati works with government and commercial transportation, logistics and supply chain agencies applying advanced analytics and AI. Her work on transportation and infrastructure technology initiatives include connected and autonomous vehicles, and smart cities. “Smart cities and advanced mobility will require real-time decision making and high-performance analytical and predictive modeling at large scale,” Salamati said.  “Connected, and even autonomous vehicles will transform mobility and generate vast amounts of data to improve the flow of freight, reduce congestion and improve safety and overall quality of life for us all.”

The Collective is continuing to build and expand its network of partners as an economic development initiative of The Wireless Research Center.