For USDOT, a Scientific Approach, and TOD Funds Robert C. Hampshire, Ph.D. Resurrecting a position that was abolished more than 40 years ago, the U.S. Department of Transportation is appointing a Chief Science Officer for the entire agency, and has taken additional steps “to act on the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to address the climate emergency and restore scientific integrity.” And the Federal Transit Administration has made available $10 million in TOD (transit-oriented development) planning grant funds. U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg has designated Robert C. Hampshire, Ph.D., as Acting Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology, and officially as Chief Science Officer. Hampshire will serve as the principal advisor to Buttigieg on science and technology issues, “ensuring that USDOT’s RD&T (Research, Development & Technology) programs are scientifically and technologically well-founded and conducted with integrity,” DOT said. He was previously Associate Professor at the University of Michigan Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy and at the U-M Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) Human Factors Group and Michigan Institute for Data Science (MIDAS). Hampshire earned his doctoral degree at Princeton University.