Antonio Trani earned his Ph.D. in Transportation Engineering from Virginia Tech in 1988. He has been at Virginia Tech since then, currently serving as Professor for the civil and environmental engineering department. He is also the Co-Director of the Federal Aviation Administration National Center of Excellence for Aviation Operations Research (NEXTOR2), serving in that role since 2002. “My proudest career accomplishments have been teaching and guiding many wonderful graduate students over 32 years,” he said. “Teaching and motivating undergraduates to pursue careers in airport engineering and directing the development of practical models used by airport designers and practitioners is very rewarding.” His research focuses on developing practical aviation-related computer models and analysis tools to help in airport design and decision-making. He was awarded the Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Teaching Excellence Award in 2015.