UTC 12 009: Waterway Symposium

At the present time there are many entities that are researching and working within the realm of inland waterways. Each of these organizations may have focus on areas of expertise that may be critical to furthering the existing knowledge gap that exists in inland waterways. However, since many of the individuals within these organizations rarely meet, it is critical that an environment be created wherein these topical areas may be further examined. The development of an “Annual Inland Waterway Symposium” would allow the opportunity for these critical stakeholders to gather on an annual basis to share research and lessons learned within the inland waterway area. This annual two day meeting would focus on operational analysis, lessons learned, and research from both private and public entities. This conference will also allow the opportunity for individuals from various entities to interact with each other for more than just a few minutes at a time, which is most often the case in day to day business. At the present time the conference is envisioned as being a one and a half day conference associated with another to be determined meeting that also focuses on inland waterways. The annual meeting would allow policy makers and researchers the opportunity to work with onsite groups to facilitate sessions to determine what the needs of the inland waterway system. With this valuable information policy makers could then make sure future research is targeted at areas that need to be addressed in a timely manner.