Marsha Anderson Bomar, president of the American Society for Civil Engineers (ASCE) and a University of Georgia alumna, will deliver the George H. Boyd Distinguished Lecture on Nov. 3 at 1:30 p.m. in the Coverdell Center.
Titled “Valuing Infrastructure to Avoid the Bumps in the Road: Research, Reporting, and Advocacy,” the lecture will explore how ASCE uses data-driven evaluations and its quadrennial Infrastructure Report Card to educate communities and guide policymakers in making smarter investments in a broad array of types of infrastructure.
Bomar, who was elected this year to the National Academy of Engineering, was introduced to transportation planning through her father’s work with the New York State Department of Transportation. With three degrees already under her belt, she came to UGA to pursue a Ph.D. in environmental planning and design at the College of Environment and Design.
“I am so honored to be returning to UGA to deliver the Boyd Lecture,” she said. “It’s something I never imagined would happen, quite frankly. I was very moved when I got the request.”
Bomar currently serves as a transportation strategic advisor to GHD — a global, employee-owned professional services company that partners with clients to deliver sustainable solutions in water, energy, infrastructure, and communities worldwide — and commissioner emeritus of the City of Atlanta Department of Transportation. She previously served as assistant general manager of the Metropolitan Atlanta Regional Transit Authority (MARTA) for capital program delivery and has founded and sold two companies: Street Smarts Inc., a planning, engineering and design firm, and Data Smarts, a data collection and management firm.
Having worked in both the private and public sectors, Bomar has an understanding of both the political and technical sides of transportation, giving her broad perspective that helps in prioritizing the public’s best interests, she said.
The ASCE Infrastructure Report Card evaluates 18 categories — from roads and bridges to airports, water systems and dams — to both educate the public about community infrastructure and advocate for smart investments that protect public health, safety and welfare.
“When we look at the projects in which we invest, we want to make sure we are developing sustainable and resilient solution — that we’re building them to improve safety, and that we’re taking care of the best public interest,” Bomar said.
Free to the public, the George H. Boyd Distinguished Lecture Series honors the UGA Graduate School’s former dean, who was known for his commitment to education and research. The lecture series is supported by the Office of Research and the William S. and Elizabeth K. Boyd Foundation. Each lecture brings national leaders and policymakers in science, education and related fields to the university to talk about applications of research to contemporary issues in education.
The lecture will be held at 1:30 p.m. Nov. 3 in Room 175 of the Paul D. Coverdell Center for Biomedical and Health Sciences. A reception will be held in the Coverdell lobby following the lecture.