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World Conference on Transport Research Society
Background of the Jules Dupuit Prize
The Jules Dupuit Prize is the most prestigious WCTRS prize, and is awarded to a person whose scientific and professional career has been of distinguished benefit to the transportation community. The prize was initiated by Marc GAUDRY and Antti TALVITIE, and at the 6th WCTR, Marc GAUDRY was asked to explain the rationale behind the creation of the award.
In 1991, speaking in the name of science, Marc GAUDRY from Montreal, opened the International Association of Travel Behaviour Conference in Quebec, wondering if it were not wise to change the name of the Conference to “Jules Dupuit Conference”, which he thought would enhance the identity of the profession and also challenge its members. Antti TALVITIE and Marc GAUDRY met in Helsinki shortly after, and discussed the issues surrounding the conference name and the general interests of the transportation profession. They came to the conclusion that rather than associate the Jules Dupuit name with any conference, a career prize should be established bearing the name of Jules Dupuit. This was considered to be very timely, since over 150 years have now passed since this French engineer developed the bases of cost benefit analyses and road pricing ; both of which are not only acutely important and technically feasible, but also essential today. The firm Viatek Consulting Engineers and Architects, Espoo, Finland, whose President was Antti TALVITIE at the time, agreed to donate USD 1000 as the first Jules Dupuit Prize to be given during the 6th WCTR in Lyon, France and it is the intention of the WCTR to keep awarding this prize during its future meetings.
Ground Rules and Selection Process
The Jury met during the Conference and established ground rules and then considered several outstanding candidates. The ground rules included research quality and research quantity, internal contribution to the profession, and external impact to the practices of the transport profession. Additional ground rules were that the prize was not to be restricted to any particular discipline and candidates from all diverse backgrounds comprising the transport community were to be considered.
https://www.wctrs-society.com/wctr-prize/wctr-major-prize/
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