Mike Fitch has been selected as the new director of the Virginia Transportation Research Council (VTRC).
In this role, he will oversee all scientific research conducted and implemented by VTRC for VDOT in the areas of safety, operations and traffic engineering; pavements; structures; and planning and environment.
For the past five years, Mike has served as VTRC’s deputy director, and more recently, its acting director. Prior to this role, he served as a research scientist with VTRC for 24 years, focusing primarily on minimizing the environmental impacts of transportation through green engineering and the development of sustainable maintenance practices. His projects have ranged from improved methods for monitoring wetland mitigation to stormwater best management practice evaluations. Before joining VTRC, Mike worked as an environmental consultant in Honolulu, HI for three years.
During his time as a research scientist with VTRC, Mike has demonstrated a strong commitment to the scientific and transportation communities, serving on several National Academies of Science, Transportation Research Board committees and National Cooperative Highway Research Program panels.
Mike received his B.S. in Biology from James Madison University and both his M.S. in Environmental Science and Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Virginia.