Meet the New Federal Committee on Automation

"The U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) announced today that it is establishing a new advisory committee focused on automation across a number of modes," according to a press release on the U.S. DOT website.

The committee will meet for the first time on January 16, 2017. The tasks before the committee include "determining the needs of the Department as it continues with its relevant research, policy, and regulations" on the subject of automated vehicles.

The committee members are listed below:

1. Co-Chair: Mary Barra - General Motors, Chairman and CEO
2. Co-Chair: Eric Garcetti - Mayor of Los Angeles, CA
3. Vice Chair: Dr. J. Chris Gerdes - Stanford University, Professor of Engineering
4. Gloria Boyland - FedEx, Corporate Vice President, Operations & Service Support
5. Robin Chase - Zipcar; Buzzcar; Veniam, Co-founder of Zipcar and Veniam
6. Douglas Chey - Hyperloop One, Senior Vice President of Systems Development
7. Henry Claypool - Community Living Policy Center, Policy Director
8. Mick Cornett - Mayor of Oklahoma City, OK
9. Mary “Missy” Cummings - Duke University, Director, Humans and Autonomy Lab, Pratt School of Engineering
10. Dean Garfield - Information Technology Industry Council, President and CEO
11. Mary Gustanski - Delphi Automotive, Vice President of Engineering & Program Management
12. Debbie Hersman - National Safety Council, President and CEO
13. Rachel Holt - Uber, Regional General Manager, United States and Canada
14. Lisa Jackson - Apple, Vice President of Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives
15. Tim Kentley-Klay - Zoox, Co-founder and CEO
16. John Krafcik- Waymo, CEO
17. Gerry Murphy - Amazon, Senior Corporate Counsel, Aviation
18. Robert Reich - University of California, Berkeley, Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy, Richard and Rhoda Goldman School of Public Policy
19. Keller Rinaudo- Zipline International, CEO
20. Chris Spear - American Trucking Association (ATA), President and CEO
21. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger - Safety Reliability Methods, Inc., Founder and CEO
22. Bryant Walker Smith - University of South Carolina, Assistant Professor, School of Law and (by courtesy) School of Engineering
23. Jack Weekes - State Farm Insurance, Operations Vice President, Innovation Team
24. Ed Wytkind - President, Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO
25. John Zimmer - Lyft, Co-founder and President

Extra points for noticing that Capt. Sully made the list. One thing missing, however: a representative from a transit agency. That fact was not lost on Yonah Freemark, who responded to the announcement in a Tweet.

No one from a transit agency on this US DOT automation committee. Though LA Mayor Garcetti is co-chair, so that’s something. https://t.co/ELsRCE4xQU

— Yonah Freemark (@yfreemark) January 11, 2017