rememb e r i n g a l e g a c y Alan Clayton 1944–2021
It is with great sadness that we share the news of the passing of Alan Clayton, Professor Emeritus from the University of Manitoba and winner of the ITE Wilbur S. Smith Distinguished Educator Award (2005) and CITE’s H. Robert Burton Distinguished Service Award (2008). Professor Clayton inspired students for decades, teaching in the Department of Civil Engineering from 1980 to 2010. In 2011, he was appointed Professor Emeritus. Fondly referred to as “the professor,” Alan specialized in Transportation Engineering with a focus on freight transport, traffic engineering, transport planning, and road safety.
Prof Alan Clayton is presented with CITE’s most prestigious H. Robert Burton Distinguished Service Award by Bruce Belmore.
Alan was highly recognized including being awarded the MPI RoadWise Community Award (2000). He was invited to a panel to recommend harmonized heavy vehicle standards in Canada and the United States, working with Transport Canada and the US Federal Highway Administration. Prof. Clayton believed students’ research could add value and that they should be recognized for their contributions. Part of how he lived this belief was in founding the University of Manitoba Transport Information Group (UMTIG) to collect, analyze and disseminate traffic data for the entire provincial road network. The group became a long term partner with Manitoba Infrastructure and has provided design and operational traffic data for over 30 years.
Touring Washington DC before TRB in 2004. L-R: Jen Malzer, Mitchell Jacobson, Scott Minty, Jonathan Regehr, Ana Malbasa, and Prof Alan Clayton. Photo credit: Tanya Worms.
Prof. Clayton embodied many of the values that are dear to CITE, like supporting students through meaningful opportunities and dialogue. His own students will remember his many lessons, including helping us adopt his passion for transportation, thinking in terms of systems, and doing everything with a sense of purpose and humour. Anyone who met Alan came away with network connections, their perspectives challenged, and a sense of humility in the interconnectivity of our world. Professor, you are missed. In lieu of flowers, his students respectfully ask that you take time counting trucks, ask yourself what you don’t see, and remember to be nice. Jen Malzer, P.Eng., FITE 29
TRANSPORTATION TALK | SPRING 2021