John A. Barton, P.E. is a Professor of Practice for the Zachry Department of Civil Engineering at Texas A&M University and Assistant Vice Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives. Barton provides direction, guidance and advice for the College of Engineering departments and their faculty to integrate the collective assets of the Texas A&M University System to generate ideas that address critical challenges to the state and nation. Mr. Barton recently retired as the Deputy Executive Director of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) where he provided executive control and oversight of all TxDOT operations and the management and operation of the state’s transportation system. Mr. Barton held a variety of positions with TxDOT in two TxDOT districts as well as the agency’s central administration during his 30 years of state service.

Rodney Boehm led development of the technical competition for the SpaceX Hyperloop Design Weekend. With more than 30 years in all aspects of the telecommunications industry, creation of a telecommunications standard (SONET - Synchronous Optical Network) for the fiber optics industry that is still in use internationally over 30 years later, a wide variety of business experiences in international companies, and start up experiences, Boehm is currently serving as Associate Professor of Practice for the College of Engineering at Texas A&M University. He currently is using his technical business experiences to develop and create innovation and entrepreneurial programs for the Engineering Innovation Center, a 20,000 square foot rapid prototyping facility.