Dr Daniel Ainalis leads the Life Cycle and Economic Assessment portfolio at the National Transport Research Organisation (NTRO) in Australia. He has extensive experience leading and working on a variety of national and international projects related to the performance, sustainability, and economics of road freight transport and infrastructure. Prior to joining the NTRO, Daniel was a Senior Researcher and Research Manager of the Centre for Sustainable Road Freight at Cambridge University (UK).

Daniel has led and delivered a range of heavy vehicle, road transport and transport infrastructure related projects working in close collaboration with stakeholders across academia, industry and government. He has expertise in modelling, monitoring, and evaluating technological and operational interventions, with an emphasis on quantifying and assessing the economic and environmental (energy and emissions) impacts of vehicles and infrastructure. He also has extensive experience in measuring, identifying, processing, and managing transport data from a variety of sources, from on-board vehicle measurements to aggregated national datasets.

Thomas Asp works as a senior specialist at Trafikverket and as a project leader at CLOSER (Lindholmens science Park). He is a civil engineer from Chalmers in Gothenburg.

He is together with Loes Aarts leading working group “Road freight corridor management” in CEDR. He is also the leader of the Swedish HCT-programme.

Tim Breemersch (Transport & Mobility Leuven, Belgium) holds a degree in Business Engineering and an additional master’s degree in Environmental Science and Technology.

He specialises in modelling and the economic evaluation of environmental and transport policy, with a focus on energy efficiency and emissions from freight and passenger transport, both at the regional and international (European) level. Tim investigates the competitive position of transport modes after policy changes and carries out cost-benefit analyses of (transport) infrastructure works.

In recent years, he has mainly been involved in analyses of freight transport, including HDV CO2 emissions and European Weights and Dimensions legislation.

Associate Professor of Civil Engineering at the City College of New York and the Deputy Director of the Center for Social and Economic Mobility for People and Communities through Transportation (SEMPACT), the US DOT Regional University Transportation Center for Region 2.

Chair of the Transportation Research Board’s Freight Data Committee and the past Chair of the ASCE Transportation and Development Institute’s Freight and Logistics Committee.

Christopher is Head of EV Transition at GoMetro where he supports the electrification of truck and bus fleets by leveraging advanced telematics-driven fleet visibility solutions. With a background in engineering research, he has dedicated much of his career to pioneering work in heavy vehicle performance and decarbonisation at Cambridge University and at the CSIR in South Africa. Christopher is also an Honorary Senior Lecturer at Wits University in South Africa, and Senior Member at Robinson College, Cambridge. He obtained BSc(Eng) and MSc(Eng) degrees in mechanical engineering from Wits University, and a PhD from Cambridge. He is a registered Professional Engineer (PrEng) in South Africa.

Parth Deshpande is a researcher with the Centre for Sustainable Road Freight, based in the Department of Engineering at the University of Cambridge. His research interests are electrification of heavy goods vehicles, vehicle dynamics and control, and transportation and traffic modelling.

Frédéric Domprobst obtained M.Sc. in mechanical engineering from Institut Français de Mécanique Avancée, 2002, and M.Sc. in automotive engineering from Ecole Supérieure de l’Energie et des Matériaux, 2003.

He joined Michelin in 2003 for vibro-acoustic research, and is currently in charge of truck tire pre-development for advanced OEM partnership at Michelin research center.

John Gordon is the Manager, Strategic Engagement at Austroads, incorporating Transport Certification Australia, and holds a Bachelor of Science degree.

He has over 25 years’ experience in transport strategy and policy, including as a consultant to several national transport bodies. This work included national stakeholder engagement and work program prioritisation, leading the horizon scanning and strategy branch of the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads, and project managing key elements of the national Heavy Vehicle Charging and Investment program.

John currently leads engagement, thinking and influence across government and industry sectors to positively promote and position Austroads within a strategic context, and to communicate insights back into the organisation.

Mats Harborn has worked and lived over thirty years in China – most of the time for Scania – but has also been active in the banking sector and he has been Commercial Counsellor at the Swedish Embassy in Beijing. From 2020 to 2024, Mats was president of Scania China Group in charge overall strategy and governmental communication in China. Between 2011 and 2020, he worked as the Executive Director of Scania China Strategic Office, responsible for setting strategies and paving the way for sales of high-end trucks in China, including High Capacity Vehicles.

Mats has been actively involved in Sino-European trade and business relations, and was elected for six years to the executive board of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China whereof two years as its President. In 2010 he helped found the China Commercial Vehicles Board of ACEA (European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association) and has been active in it ever since.

Gavin has twenty-five years of experience in land transport reform and regulation.

He is widely known for his leadership in delivering major policy reforms in the heavy vehicle industry. Gavin is recognised for his ability to manage complex stakeholder environments by navigating strategic, regulatory, technological and operational dimensions.

Gavin is known globally through his work with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development/International Transport Form, and the International Forum for Heavy Vehicle Transport & Technology.

Gavin is the General Manager of Strategic Engagement and Performance at Austroads – the association of Australian and New Zealand transport agencies. He holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration and an Honours Degree in Economics.

Dr. Wei Huang is Chief Engineer and Principal Research Officer at Transportation Engineering Centre, National Research Council of Canada (NRC). Prior to joining NRC in 2008, he served as Senior Engineer in the industry after serving as Associate Professor and Researcher in academia.

In addition to his role at NRC, he is active in the following positions: Adjunct Research Professor at Carleton University; Adjunct Professor and Industrial Advisory Committee Member at Ontario Tech University; Editorial Board Member of journals “Vehicle System Dynamics”, “International Journal of Vehicle Performance”, “Railway Engineering Science”, and “Journal of Traffic and Transportation Engineering”; Thrust Lead in NATO Applied Vehicle Technology Activity; and Transportation System Technical Committee Member of Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering.

His recent awards include the Individual Excellence in Research Award and the Excellence in Business Innovation Award for his professional achievements, as well as Excellence Award for chairing the 28th IAVSD International Symposium on Dynamics of Vehicles on Roads and Tracks as Symposium Chair and International Scientific Committee Chair.

Dom Kalasih is Chief Executive of the national freight advocacy organisation Transporting New Zealand.
Dom has a long history in road transport and in particular, the heavy freight side of the sector. He has worked at the NZ Transport Agency, at the Ministry of Transport as heavy vehicle safety advisor and was with Shell and Z Energy for more than a decade with several roles in areas including logistics, business development and health and safety.
A we all as being Treasurer of HVTT, Dom’s voluntary roles include Immediate Past President of the Institute of Road Transport Engineers NZ, and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport.
Dom’s broad understanding across heavy transport matters is demonstrated by his co-authoring and presenting papers internationally on matters including increased vehicle productivity, driver fatigue, fuel efficiency and performance-based standards.
Outside of work his hobbies include motor-racing and sailing. As a volunteer, he is currently MotorSport New Zealand’s Chief of Circuit Safety.

Sogol is a research leader at the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI), based in Linköping, Sweden. She has more than 20 years of research experience in vehicle technologies, with a strong focus on heavy vehicles and their role in safe, sustainable, and intelligent transport systems. She holds a docent title in Vehicle Systems and serves as an Adjunct Associate Professor at Linköping University, where she supervises PhD students in related areas.

She earned her PhD and MSc in Vehicle Systems from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, and a BSc in Mechanical Engineering from Sharif University of Technology, Iran.

PhD student in Heavy Vehicle Dynamics / PBS at the University of Pretoria.

Karel received the MSc. degree from Czech Technical University in Prague, and Ph.D. degree in Dynamics & Control from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands. He is an associate professor at Academy of Engineering & Automotive, HAN University of Applied Sciences, where he chairs the knowledge cluster Sustainable Road Transport and Logistics, being part of Automotive Research Group.
His current research focuses on data-driven sustainable road freight transport, modelling and simulation of advanced vehicle dynamics, automated vehicle control with the use of digital twinning, and driver support systems for road freight transport.

Consulting Engineer at Transport and Mechanical Consulting Ltd.

Julien Lépine is an Associate Professor at the Department of Operations and Decision Systems at Université Laval in Québec City and a member of the Interuniversity Research Centre on Enterprise Networks, Logistics and Transportation (CIRRELT).

Formerly, he was a Research Associate at the Sustainable Road Freight Centre and Cambridge University Engineering Department, and a Postdoctoral Associate at St-Catharine’s College, Cambridge.

He is primarily working on sustainable transport with research projects on heavy vehicle fuel consumption modelling, rolling resistance, tire wear, alternative fuel and cargo securement. Julien has also been a member and Secretary of the HVTT forum since 2022.

Erin Mabry is a Senior Research Associate and Team Leader within Division of Freight, Transit, and Heavy Vehicle Safety’s (DHVY) Behavior, Wellness, and Outreach Team at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI). During her 16 years at the VTTI, Dr. Mabry’s research experience has focused on driver health, sleep disorders, fatigue, impairment, and implications of these factors on roadway safety. Dr. Mabry conducts health, sleep, and fatigue research with heavy vehicle drivers to inform best practices for implementing health and sleep disorder programs for the trucking industry. Dr. Mabry’s team specializes in conducting applied research and translating the results to real-world applications and countermeasures. Her research and outreach programs focus on operator education and training, driver distraction and fatigue, and operator health and wellness.

Pape Masseck Thiam has more than 12 years of experience in the field of transportation engineering. Graduate from Université Laval and École Polytechnique de Montréal, he works as a Senior Research Engineer and Project Lead for FPInnovations’ Transportation and Infrastructure Department. His research focuses on heavy vehicle weights and dimensions, truck seasonal weight regulations and the impact of heavy loads and climate on low volume roads and bridges.

He is currently sitting on the Canadian Task Force on Vehicle Weights and Dimensions Policy and is a member of several committees at TRB, CGS and TAC. He also holds a PMP certification from the Project Management Institute (PMI) and has recently received the Young Transportation Professional Award from TAC.

As a member of HVTT Forum board, he brings the perspective of Canadian forest, mining and oil & gas industries to the current and future of heavy vehicle transportation.

Rachel Michaud was with Knorr-Bremse for 13 years working as Lead Engineer, a Key Account Manager and then Aftersales Manager looking after Training and the Knorr-Bremse Expert Network across Australia and New Zealand. Rachel is keen to ensure that key ideas, requirements, and knowledge on Electronic and Driver Assistance Systems are passed on to the road transport community to improve outcomes for productivity and safety.

In mid-2025 she was appointed as the Lead Mechanical Engineer at the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) looking after Performance-Based Standards. Most recently she has been appointed as Chief Engineer for the Heavy Vehicle Industry Association (HVIA) where she is best placed to determine critical technical issues facing the industry and work with government, legislators, and regulators to introduce reforms as required to allow for new technology, innovation and increase the safety and productivity of the national heavy vehicle fleet.

Nikhill Muthakana is a researcher at HAN University of Applied Sciences since 2020. His research focuses on heavy duty vehicle dynamics and automation. Nikhill’s background includes a MSc in Automotive Systems and BSc in Automobile Engineering.

Paul Nordengen is the Director of Heavy Vehicle Transport Technology Africa in South Africa. He was a Research Group Leader at the CSIR for over 3 decades. He obtained an MSc in structural engineering from Wits University in Johannesburg in 1988 and his PhD in performance-based standards for heavy vehicles in 2013. He has been involved in the development of bridge, overload control, abnormal load and road transport management systems in various countries in Africa.

He is chairperson of the South African RTMS (self-regulation) and Smart Truck/PBS national committees, SABS TC 241 (RTMS) committee and was chair of the SARF Education committee for over 30 years.

He serves on ISO TC241, the committee that developed ISO 39001, Road Traffic Safety Management Systems (2012). He was a member of various OECD-ITF Working Groups on High-Capacity Transport. He is a Council Member and Past President of the SA Road Federation and a Board Member and Past President of the International Forum for Heavy Vehicle Transport and Technology (HVTT) and now holds the position of Vice President: Africa.

Joop Pauwelussen has a distinguished career in vehicle dynamics, modelling and performance assessment.

He has a degree in applied mathematics and mechanics, a PhD in mathematics and physical sciences, and a master’s degree in business management (MBA).

Now that owner of PAVONODUM, Joop was previously a Professor in Vehicle Technology at Delft University of Technology between 1998 and 2002, and a Professor in Mobility Technology at HAN University of Applied Sciences between 2002 and 2021.

Joop’s main interests are working areas include vehicle dynamics and smart vehicle control, tyre behaviour, modelling and performance assessment, driver modelling and workload assessment, heavy goods vehicle performance with an emphasis on greening (hybrid propulsion) and high capacity combinations, and the application of data science to improve vehicle performance.

Jonathan Regehr is a Professor (Transportation) and Associate Head (Undergraduate) of Civil Engineering at the University of Manitoba and works as a private transportation consultant. His research and consulting experience involves transportation information systems and analysis, freight transportation, railway engineering, traffic engineering, and road safety.

He is Co-Director of the Urban Mobility and Transportation Informatics Group (UMTIG) at the University of Manitoba. Working with federal, provincial, municipal, and private sector partners, Dr. Regehr’s research contributes to advancements in transportation engineering practice and policymaking in Canada and internationally. Dr. Regehr currently serves on the boards of the Heavy Vehicle Transport and Technology Forum and the International Society for Weigh-in-Motion.

He is the former Chair of the Transportation Research Board Committee on Highway Traffic Monitoring and the Education Committee of the Transportation Association of Canada.

Franziska Schmidt is a research engineer at Université Gustave Eiffel, former IFSTTAR, holding a MSc and a PhD in civil engineering. For several years now, she has been working on the topic of traffic loads on road infrastructure (mainly bridges), in the frame of European projects (CEDR project FALCON, FP7 Transformers or ENSEMBLE) or the practical reassessment of existing structures to traffic loads.

She is deputy head of lab EMGCU at Université Gustave Eiffel and supervises several PhD students and post-docs.

She teaches civil engineering topics (reinforced concrete, prestressed concrete) in various French engineering schools.

She is co-chair of the Long Distance Freight Transport WG of ERTRAC, and part of the CEDR Working Group Road Freight Corridor Management.

Tommy Xu is Head of Sustainability of TRATON GROUP China, which is the leading solution provider of sustainable transportations, focus on the greener logistics commitment and a long-term development in China.

Before taking the roles, Mr. Xu had been acting as Sustainability Manager, Strategy and Business Development Manager of Scania Sales (China) Co., Ltd. He has over two decades of rich experience in China’s heavy truck and road transportation industry.