Dr. Robin Autenrieth, department head and A.P. and Florence Wiley Professor III in the Zachry Department of Civil Engineering at Texas A&M University, is pleased to announce John Barton, deputy executive director of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), as professor of practice for the department.
Barton will create an interface for the department with the Chancellor’s Area 41 Institute which aims to integrate the collective assets of The Texas A&M University System to provide ideas that address critical challenges to the state and nation. He will provide guidance in identifying promising new approaches to the critical challenges and define future avenues of research and integrate industrial collaborations with the civil faculty. He will also have the opportunity to educate students through classroom lectures and seminars.
Barton graduated with honors in civil engineering from Texas A&M in 1986 and has spent his career with TxDOT. In his role as the deputy executive director he provides executive control and oversight of all TxDOT operations and the management and operation of the state’s transportation system. In 2014 he was recognized as a Distinguished Graduate of the civil engineering department and in February of this year he was honored as the inaugural recipient of the Governor Rick Perry Leadership in Transportation Award.