PARSIPPANY, NJ Robert James, PMP, joins HNTB Corporation as a Senior Project Manager for electrical engineering in the firm's Parsippany, New Jersey, office. He is responsible for design and inspection of electrical power, control and communications systems for infrastructure and intelligent transportation system projects. 

"Bob brings in-depth knowledge and experience implementing customer-facing intelligent transportation systems," said Stephen Dilts, HNTB's New Jersey Office Leader and Vice President. "New technologies are increasingly important. Our transportation clients in New Jersey recognize that emerging technologies can enhance safety and improve mobility  for travelers throughout the region."  

James holds a patent for connected automated vehicles, and he is recognized for being among the first in the United States to propose using connected vehicles and connected infrastructure to automate vehicles to improve safety. He is a founder of the Smart Road at Virginia Tech and the first to design the facility for testing automated vehicles and concepts.

Prior to joining HNTB, James was a director in technology services for New Jersey Transit with oversight for operations and customer-facing technologies for passenger stations as well as bus and rail operations. His background includes designing and directing operations control centers used by numerous New York area railroads, including Metro-North Railroad, Long Island Rail Road and PATH. James also managed the transit portion of an intelligent transportation systems project that developed a combined traveler information systems used by 28 transit agencies in the New York tri-state region. He formerly served as assistant director of the Virginia Tech Center for Transportation Research.

A member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, James is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University with a Master of Science in electrical engineering, and holds a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from the University of Maryland.

In New Jersey, HNTB's work includes the design of the Pulaski Skyway rehabilitation, design of the dedicated truck route from our region's Ports known as Portway as well as other projects for the New Jersey Department of Transportation; serving as the general consulting engineer for the New Jersey Turnpike Authority; construction manager for the Garden State Parkway interchange 125 improvement project; and program manager for New Jersey Transit's post-superstorm Sandy resiliency efforts, among others.