Faculty and Staff James Vitale

Adjunct Assistant Professor Email: Phone: (412) 624-9870 Fax: (412) 624-0135 Office: Benedum 949

Education

• BS (1973), MS (1975), and Ph.D. (1977) in Civil Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh

Professional Interests

Dr. Vitale has more than twenty years of progressively responsible experience in the Highway Engineering and Information Technology arenas. He has served as Senior Project Manager for the design of major interstate highway projects and has acquired hands-on experience in all phases of the design process.

Dr. Vitale also has a strong background in Information Technology with a specialization in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) design and implementation. He has managed and supervised the development and implementation of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission's Executive Information System. The GIS-based system was the recipient of the 2000 International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Toll Innovation Award.

Dr. Vitale began his teaching career at the State University at Albany in 1977 and remained there through1979. At that time, he joined a consulting firm to further and foster his professional development. He has been a member of the Adjunct Faculty since 1990.

Representative Publications:

• "The Pennsylvania Turnpike's Executive Information Management System", presented at the IBTTA Technology Committee Meeting, April 2001, Washington, D.C.
• "A Spatially Driven Executive Information management System", presented at the IBTTA Annual Meeting, October 2000, San Diego, CA.
• "The Role of GIS in Building Tomorrow's Toll Roads; A Case Study", Presented at the Pennsylvania Geographic Information Systems Conference, May 1998.
• "Development and Implementation of the Pennsylvania Turnpike's Executive Information Management System", Presented at the 1997 Geographic Information System for Transportation (GIS-T) Conference, Greensboro, N.C.
• "Impacts of a Proposed Transshipment Facility on Delivered Coal Prices in New York State" (with F. A. McEvoy). Transportation Research Record Number 824.
• "The Economic Feasibility of and 'All-American' Deep-Draft Navigation System Connecting the Great Lakes to the East Coast", present at the Sixty-Second Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board, January 1983.