Posted on March 8, 2022 by Amanda Cerreto

Professor of Demography Lloyd Potter was honored with the Road Hand Award from the Texas Department of Transportation at their annual Texas Transportation Forum earlier this year.

Potter is the State Demographer of Texas and director of the Texas Demographic Center , which serves as a focal point for the production, interpretation, and distribution of demographic information for the state. The Center does a lot of work with transportation, particularly providing data to the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) for transportation planning and regularly briefing TxDOT leadership on demographic changes relevant to transportation in the State.

Lloyd Potter

Transportation Forum in San Antonio.

"While at first, we were providing demographic data for TxDOT and their contractors, our work has expanded into engagement with travel demand modeling, demographic aspects of public involvement, and we are now refining a system we developed to forecast population change at small levels of geography that we hope will be a useful tool in transportation and other civic planning," Potter said.

TxDOT holds the transportation forum each year to present successes, share plans for the future and recognize outstanding contributions. The Road Hand Award was created in 1973 by Former State Highway Engineer Luther DeBerry. It is TxDOT's highest tribute to citizens who help make transportation in Texas the best in the nation.

Potter was recognized for his outstanding contributions as State Demographer to the agency. Potter was attending the forum to present on population and as he finished his presentation, he was surprised with the award, and surrounded by family and colleagues to wish him well.

Congratulations to Dr. Potter!

— Amanda Cerreto