Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Collection is open to research.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Thomas B. Deen papers, Collection #C0106, Special Collections and Archives, George Mason University.

Acquisition Information

Donated by the National Research Council Transportation Research Board.

Processing Information

Processed by Special Collections and Archives staff. EAD markup completed by Eron Ackerman and Jordan Patty in February 2009. Additional processing and EAD markup completed bt Harold Barthold in August 2011.

Biographical Information

Born in 1928, Thomas Blackburn Deen, a graduate of the University of Kentucky, began his career as a highway traffic engineer. Early in his career, Deen pioneered the development and application of methods for analyzing urban transportation problems and designing urban transit systems. These computer-based analytical methods were used to evaluate and select the lines that today make up the Washington, D.C. area Metrorail system. Deen served as Director of Planning for the National Capital Transportation Agency from 1960 to 1964, and Executive Director of the National Research Council Transportation Research Board (TRB) from 1980 to 1994. At the TRB, Deen supervised policy studies on critical national transportation issues, such as the 55 mile per hour speed limit, school bus safety, air passenger service and safety since deregulation, intelligent vehicles, and high-speed rail. He was responsible for all of TRB's activities including its sponsorship of some 260 technical committees and panels, research retrieval systems, in house research, and state-sponsored cooperative research programs.

Scope and Content

The Thomas Blackburn Deen papers contain transportation-related materials collected between 1980 and 1994 while Mr. Deen was head of the National Research Council Transportation Research Board (TRB). Types of materials include conference and committee meeting materials, TRB research information, speeches and personal correspondence. The materials cover a wide variety of topics such as highway construction, safety, international transportation concerns, and funding for highways. Organizations represented by materials in the papers include the Federal Highway Administration, the Department of Transportation, and the Permanent International Association of Road Congresses. The collections is divided into six series.

Series 1 contains documents from and about meetings, conferences, conventions, workshops and other events that Deen was invited to or participated. Material includes agendas, schedules of events, contact lists, meeting minutes, articles, notes, speeches, correspondence, travel itineraries, travel receipts, publications, memos, programs, committee member lists, book excerpts, announcements, proposals, registration forms, travel vouchers, policy books, attendance lists, pamphlets, maps, resumes, lists of publications, organizational charts, flight schedules, business cards, contact information, essays, information tables, manuscripts, committee reports, overhead projector slides, photographs, financial information, calendars of events, newsletters, press releases, fact sheets, copyright information, slides, faxes and "Who's Who" listings. Subject matter includes infrastructure, transportation research, public works, civil engineering, hazardous material transportation, safety, financing infrastructure, pavement management and maintenance, technical policy, geometric design standards, energy usage, European infrastructure, transportation centers, traffic congestion, trucking, highway and transportation engineering, high speed trains, economics of transport, transportation law, mass transit, urban infrastructure, state highway and transportation officials, urban mobility, Australian transportation, The US Department of Transportation, motor vehicle manufacturers the future of transportation, transportation planning, Asian infrastructure, intelligent vehicles, aviation, and Indian highways. Series 1 also includes a subseries containing the lectures and speeches of Thomas Deen. At many of the events that Deen attended, he was invited to speak on a variety of topics. Material in this subseries includes transcripts of speeches, notes, programs, correspondence, travel information, maps, organizational charts, articles, pamphlets, schedules, agendas, newsletters, presentation slides, graphs and attendance lists. Subject matter includes Thomas Deen's life, the Transportation Research Board, the 55 mile per hour speed limit, the future of the automobile, economic growth and development, research, transportation, value engineering, citizens band radio in intercity busses, urban policy, trucking, hazardous materials, state and federal financial management, rapid transit, traffic congestion, transportation law, the role of state and region in public surface transportation, transportation centers, infrastructure, highway construction, engineering management, commencement addresses, transportation planning and scholarship.

Series 2 consists of research materials as well as documents from location tours. Material in this series includes research reports, correspondence, project status reports, memos, notes, travel information, articles, essays, organizational charts, budget information, publication lists, maps, research reports, newsletters, pamphlets, biographical sketches, agendas and project proposals. Subject matter includes road maintenance, automobile assembly, transportation policy, urban mobility, automobile safety, the Transportation Research Board, the US Army Corps of Engineers, intelligent vehicles, and testing.

Series 3 contains correspondence to and from Thomas Deen. Topics include travel, upcoming events, research, transportation, traffic laws, intelligent vehicles, transportation studies, Amnesty International, traffic management, transit research, highway administration and infrastructure.

Series 4 contains documents dealing with urban planning. Material includes booklets, receipts, newsletters, articles, correspondence, essays, notes, meeting agendas and schedules, memos, meeting minutes, presentation slides and Intelligent Vehicle Highway Society Planning Committee documents. Subject matter includes transportation planning on a federal and local level, traffic congestion, transportation engineering, and intelligent vehicles.

Series 5 contains published work by Thomas Deen. Subject matter includes transportation, rapid transit, transportation engineering, highway research, traveler response evaluation, transit planning, the Alan M. Voorhees and Associates firm, urban public transportation, public works, transportation planning, rail transit, bridge inspection, automotive safety, the 55 mile per hour speed limit, fiscal policies, growth, asphalt, labor, transportation statistics, Caracas, Venezuela, parking prices, planning, foreign highway research programs, urban transportation planning, and economic evaluation.

Series 6 contains miscellaneous files from the Thomas Deen collection. Material includes official reports, discussion outlines, meeting schedules and agendas, memos, correspondence, attendance lists, committee lists, work plans, travel information, notes, pamphlets, programs, resumes, newsletters, maps, articles, congressional resolutions, publications, fact sheets, business cards, contact information, charts and graphs, "Who's Who" articles and calendars. Subject matter includes public works, traffic management, vehicle safety, roads and bridges, carpooling, asphalt, the 55 mile per hour speed limit, traffic engineering, highway financing, federal highway administration, and railroads.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged by subject.

Related Material

Special Collections and Archives holds many other transportation related collections and books.

Index Terms

Persons:

• Deen, Thomas B.

Corporate Names:

• American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.
• American Public Works Association.
• American Road and Transportation Builders Association.
• Institute of Transportation Engineers.
• Intelligent Vehicle Highway Society of America.
• International Road Federation.
• National Asphalt Pavement Association.
• National Research Council (U.S.). Transportation Research Board.
• Permanent International Association of Road Congresses.
• The Road Gang
• United States. Dept. of Transportation.
• United States. Federal Highway Administration.

Subjects:

• Transportation Engineering--United States.
• Transportation, Automotive--United States.
• Transportation, Rail--United States.

Adjunct Descriptive Data