Dr. Denver Tolliver is the director of the Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute at North Dakota State University and the director of the Region 8 University Transportation Center (the Center for Transformative Infrastructure Preservation and Sustainability), which is a U.S. DOT funded center that includes 11 universities. Dr. Tolliver (who holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Design & Planning from Virginia Tech) has been the principal investigator on $54 million of federal and state grants during his career and has authored or co-authored more than 150 transportation research publications, including publications in 20 different journals. Much of his research has focused on highway and railway planning and freight operations, including autonomous trucking. Dr. Tolliver is currently the principal investigator of a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration grant focused on preparing for autonomous trucking in rural regions.