Mark Abkowitz

Mark Abkowitz is a Distinguished Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Professor of Engineering Management at Vanderbilt University School of Engineering, where he has been on the faculty since 1991. He serves as Director of the Vanderbilt Center for Environmental Management Studies. Abkowitz earned his B.S. in Civil Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1974, followed by an M.S. in 1976 and a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering with a focus on Transportation in 1980, also from MIT. Throughout his career, he has held significant leadership roles, including Chairman of Visual Risk Technologies, Inc. from 1999 to 2007, Presidential appointee to the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board from 2002 to 2011, and Chairman of the Transportation Research Board Committee on Hazardous Materials Transport from 1990 to 1996, with continued membership until 2012. He has also contributed to numerous National Research Council committees and reviews, such as the Committee on Disposal of Transuranic Waste at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant and reports on spent nuclear fuel transportation.

Abkowitz specializes in enterprise risk management, hazardous materials transportation safety and security, assessing the impacts of extreme weather on infrastructure resilience, spatial analysis of freight transportation systems, and risk mitigation using advanced information technologies, with a particular emphasis on risks associated with accidents, intentional acts, and natural disasters. He has authored over one hundred publications on these topics and the book Operational Risk Management: A Case Study Approach to Effective Planning and Response, published by John Wiley & Sons. His work has garnered media appearances on National Public Radio, Fox National News, and CNBC, and he has consulted for businesses and government agencies. Abkowitz has received prestigious honors, including induction into the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists in 2015 for leadership and excellence in Environmental Sustainability, the Hochman Lifetime Achievement Award from the Transportation Research Board in 2016, the 1996 Distinguished Service Award from the National Academy of Sciences for his Transportation Research Board leadership, Best Oral Paper at Waste Management 2008, and the Team Award of Excellence from the Tennessee Department of Transportation in 2006. His contributions have significantly influenced risk assessment and management practices in transportation and environmental engineering fields.

Professional Email: mark.abkowitz@vanderbilt.edu