Stephen Still ISTL External Advisory Board meets to discuss Institute priorities and future directions

The meeting included a foreword from the ISTL-affiliated School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Dean Kemper Lewis, and the School of Management, Dean Ananth Iyer, as well as insights from the affiliated Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering, Chair Alan Rabideau, and the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Chair Robert Dell. 

The presentation introduced the budget for the current fiscal year, a dialogue on the current state of the Institute and a discussion on current course offerings for the ISTL graduate program. The presentation included a research update from the Engineering and Management faculty and graduate students. 

The EAB was taken on an afternoon tour of ISTL’s emerging research labs, SUMIT and TRAVL, and concluded with an executive session to summarize outcomes. 

As a special addendum to the Fall 2025 meeting, during the midday lunch period, ISTL hosted a visit with Waymo—an autonomous driving technology company that operates a fully autonomous ride-hailing service and was formed from the Google Self-Driving Car Project. 

A marketing representative from Waymo joined the meeting to discuss their emerging autonomous vehicle technologies as well as potential collaborative prospects between Waymo and the institute. 

The EAB consists of industry professionals from a variety of business sectors, including meeting attendees from the Buffalo Niagara Partnership, the Niagara International Transportation Technology Coalition, the Buffalo & Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority, the New York State Department of Transportation, the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority, retired professionals from the freight and logistics sectors, and Board leadership from Dr. Stephen Still . The EAB will meet again in Spring 2026 to discuss progress on current priorities related to ISTL research and education, as well as the pending 2026 leadership transition.