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Transportation Research Board > Blurbs > 2027 TRB Annual Meeting: Amy Stearns Recipient of the 2026 Robert E. Skinner, Jr. Distinguished Transportation Research Management Award
2027 TRB Annual Meeting: Amy Stearns Recipient of the 2026 Robert E. Skinner, Jr. Distinguished Transportation Research Management Award
Amy Stearns, former Senior University Program Specialist in the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology, is the 2026 recipient of the Robert E. Skinner, Jr. Distinguished Transportation Research Management Award. She is recognized for more than three decades of steady, impartial, and highly effective administration of the U.S. DOT University Transportation Centers (UTC) Program and for helping sustain and strengthen a national program that advances transportation research, education, outreach, technology transfer, and partnerships.
From 1992 to 2026, Stearns served as administrator of the UTC Program as it grew from its early structure of 10 regional centers to 35 centers and expanded its scope. Through changes in presidential administrations, congressional direction, and U.S. DOT research leadership, she provided continuity and consistent stewardship of a complex national research enterprise involving universities, federal agencies, researchers, and practitioners.
TRB’s Robert E. Skinner, Jr. Distinguished Transportation Research Management Award recognizes outstanding achievement in the management of transportation research distinguished through leadership of one or more major transportation research programs that have contributed to significant advances in transportation over the course of their career. 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 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.
Stearns administered U.S. DOT-sponsored grants to universities, applying federal grant-management principles and evaluating grantee performance. She served as lead staff on competitions for new grants, including preparing and updating solicitations, responding to applicants, establishing Grants.gov opportunities, preparing grant agreements, and obtaining agency approvals. She also addressed individual grantee needs, prepared and reviewed program documents, responded to requests from members of Congress and senior federal officials, and represented the UTC Program in meetings with government, academic, and research communities.
Her management helped the UTC Program navigate substantial growth and change while maintaining consistency, transparency, and accountability. She worked to ensure that grant requirements and program protocols were applied fairly and consistently and provided universities with timely guidance on contractual and administrative matters. Her approach fostered professionalism and partnership across the UTC community and strengthened relationships among the institutions and people responsible for conducting and supporting transportation research.
Stearns also helped connect the UTC community and promote the dissemination and use of transportation research. Her collaborative work included major national gatherings such as the UTC Summit held in Washington, D.C., in August 2024. By helping maintain a strong and trusted national research program, she contributed to the development and dissemination of new ideas, technologies, and solutions and to a program that has retained broad bipartisan support.
Stearns has a long record of service to TRB. She was a member of the TRB Information Services Committee from 2004 through 2016, representing the UTC Program. In connection with TRB’s Research in Progress (RiP) and Transportation Research International Documentation (TRID) databases, she worked with U.S. DOT to require that UTCs post their research in the databases, promoted use of RiP and TRID by U.S. DOT staff and officials, and worked with TRB on training tools for university staff working on UTC grants. From 2006 to 2017, she was part of the U.S. DOT team that worked with TRB on the annual Spotlight Conference, which convened government, industry, and academic leaders to discuss current and emerging transportation topics. She also served as the U.S. DOT liaison for a TRB study of the early UTC Program and staffed the UTC Program exhibit at TRB Annual Meetings from 1993 through 2025.
Stearns’s legacy is one of sustained, effective stewardship of one of the nation’s important mechanisms for supporting transportation research and preparing future transportation professionals. Her consistency, sound judgment, collaborative leadership, and commitment to fair and effective research administration are deservedly recognized through her receipt of TRB’s 2026 Robert E. Skinner, Jr. Distinguished Transportation Research Management Award.
This Summary Last Modified On: 9/21/2026
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