Advisory Board
External Advisors
David Boyce
During 41 years of academic research and teaching, Professor Boyce has addressed key methodological issues related to metropolitan transportation and land use planning. His early monograph, Metropolitan Plan Making, critically examined the experience with the land use and travel forecasting models during the 1960s. Recognizing that these methods lacked an adequate scientific basis, he devoted his career to the formulation and solution of urban travel and location forecasting models. Boyce is currently a professor at Northwestern University in the Department of Civil Engineering.
Thomas Ewing
Ewing has a broad background in applied physics, mathematics, and computing. His three decades of experience span fields such as nuclear power research, software design and development, mathematical modeling and simulation, and technical project development and management. Currently Ewing is a senior scientist and Associate Division Director of Nuclear Engineering. He has line-management responsibility for the national security programs, and lab-wide responsibility for developing and coordinating transportation and border security initiatives for Argonne's program in homeland security. He holds Ph.D and Master's degrees in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Wisconsin (Madison), and a B.S. in Engineering Physics with honors from the University of Toledo.
Michael J. Shiffer
Shiffer is currently Vice President for Planning with Translink, the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority. He is responsible for planning activities related to the major roads, bridges, bikeways, freight and public transit networks including bus, paratransit, rapid rail, commuter rail and ferries for the Metro Vancouver region. Shiffer was a Clinical Associate Professor of Urban Planning and Policy at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and formerly the Vice President for Planning and Development at the Chicago Transit Authority. Before returning to his native Chicago in 2000, Shiffer served for nine years on the MIT faculty where he was Principal Research Scientist and a Lecturer in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning. Shiffer received a Ph.D. in Regional Planning and Master's of Urban Planning from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Shiffer also holds a B.A. in Geography from DePaul University.
Northwestern Advisors
Jeff Coney
Coney serves as Director of Economic Development at Northwestern University, a position he was appointed to in September 2007. Coney joined Northwestern in 2000 as Director of New Business Initiatives. In that role, he was responsible for day-to-day operation of the Illinois Technology Enterprise Center (ITEC) in Evanston, which delivered a variety of technology commercialization services to local early-stage tech companies. The Center served over 350 entrepreneurs and assisted in the formation of over 50 ventures. ITEC clients raised over $85 million in venture capital and grant-funding, and created several hundred jobs. Prior to joining the University, Coney spent 14 years as a software entrepreneur. He co-founded Facility Management Systems Inc., a local software company, which was sold to a publicly traded company. He also held positions with Arthur Andersen, Metropolitan Structures and The City of Chicago. He is a founding member of the Midwest Research Universities' Network. Mr. Coney holds both B.A. and M.B.A. degrees from Northwestern and is a Certified Public Accountant.
Aaron Gellman
Gellman joined the faculty of the Kellogg School of Management in 1992 as a professor of management and strategy. He also holds an appointment as professor of industrial engineering at the Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science at Northwestern University. Dr. Gellman was the Director of the Transportation Center at Northwestern University from 1992 through 2000. He founded and was formerly president of Gellman Research Associates Inc., a consulting firm. Prior to joining the faculty at Northwestern, he served 24 years as an adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania. Professor Gellman is a member of the American Economic Association, Transportation Research Forum, Transportation Research Board, American Railway Engineering Association, and the Pennsylvania Conference of Economists. He is also a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Michael A. Marasco
Marasco joined the faculty of Northwestern University McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Sciences as a clinical associate professor and director of the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. CEI is dedicated to evolving engineering beyond the application of the sciences to the creation of businesses that capitalize on innovations. Marasco has been teaching entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship for the past thirteen years. He received his B.S. in Accountancy with high honors from DePaul University and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.
