John Leonard

Bio

Dr. John D. Leonard II is Associate Dean for Finance and Administration for the College of Engineering. Prior to this appointment, Dr. Leonard served as Associate Chair of the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Dr. Leonard is a tenured Associate Professor of Civil Engineering specializing in transportation and traffic engineering. From March 2002 to July 2004, Dr. Leonard served in various senior management roles within the State Road and Tollway Authority of Georgia. In February 2003, Dr. Leonard was appointed Executive Director (Interim) by Governor Sonny Perdue. During his tenure at the Tollway Authority, Dr. Leonard oversaw day-to-day operations, human resource management, financial management, process management, information systems, and strategic planning. Through his leadership, SRTA infused continuous quality improvement and business process engineering concepts into ongoing SRTA programs and processes. Dr. Leonard has published over 30 papers, book chapters, and reports and is a nationally recognized expert in the analysis and design of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) and in the analysis and design of coordinated traffic signal systems. Dr. Leonard's research in traffic operations has led to an improved understanding of freeway congestion, and to the deployment of improved strategies for relieving system congestion related to incidents. Dr. Leonard's research in coordinated traffic signal systems has directly resulted in better tools and procedures for reducing surface street congestion. His ideas and tools are used around the country as part of low-cost, immediately applicable techniques for relieving traffic congestion on both freeways and surface streets. Dr. Leonard received his Bachelors of Science, Masters of Science, and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in Engineering in 1983, 1986, and 1991 respectively from the University of California Irvine.