Biosketch

Dr. Catherine L. Ross is a Regents’ Professor and Harry West Professor of City and Regional Planning and Civil and Environmental Engineering and director of the Center for Quality Growth and Regional Development (CQGRD) at the Georgia Institute of Technology. She has published extensively and is an internationally known transportation and urban planner. Dr. Ross is one of the world’s experts on Megaregions and sustainability – bringing together regions and cities on transportation, water, energy, land development and health creating places that compete in a global world. Her book, Megaregions and Global Competitiveness (2009), is a leading reference on these emerging geographies. Her extensive research on regional resilience and sustainability focuses on water, energy, transportation, economic development and Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS).

She is a member of the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA), former Urban Land Institute Fellow, and past president of the National Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP). Dr. Ross has served on numerous National Academies committees including the Transportation Research Board Executive Committee, University Transportation Centers Program and on the board of directors of the ENO Transportation Foundation. She earned a Master’s Degree and a Ph.D. in City and Regional Planning from Cornell University and completed post-doctorate work at the University of California, Berkeley.

In July 2009, Dr. Ross was consulted in establishing the first-ever White House Office of Urban Affairs. She currently serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Auto Club Group (American Automobile Association (AAA).

Educational Background

Ph.D., City and Regional Planning, Cornell University
M.R.P., Regional Planning, Cornell University
B.A., History, Sociology, and Education Certification, Kent State University

Fields

• Transportation and Infrastructure
• Land Use Planning and Regional Governance
• Healthy Places
• Regional Science (Megaregions)

Research Ambitions

An internationally known transportation and urban planner, Catherine Ross has conducted research and has project experience at the local, national, and international levels. In addition, she co-founded Euquant, Inc., an Atlanta-based economic and planning consulting firm. Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Ford Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), PEW Charitable Trusts, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy-China, Federal Transit Administration, and many local, city, and state governments throughout the country.

Recent Courses

• CP 6311/ CEE 6602 | Introduction to Transportation Planning
• CP 6233 | Sustainable Urban Development
• CP 6052 | Growth, Regionalism and Cities

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Partnerships

The Center for Quality Growth & Regional Planning (CQGRD) , led by Dr. Catherine Ross, works to advance its initiatives through collaboration with a wide range of university, government, and organizational partnerships. While many of these are project-specific, three are formal partnerships involving long-term efforts to build sustainable development and advance research of practical value. These partnerships include:

Healthy Places Research Group (HPRG) progresses a policy agenda that improves public health through the design of the built environment. HPRG invites any interested member of the public to become involved at its regular meetings.

NSF ADVANCE is a national campaign adopted at Georgia Tech to aid the career advancement of women in higher education. Catherine Ross leads the initiative for the College of Architecture and through her various roles on campus through providing resources and recognition for women.

Piedmont Alliance for Quality Growth formed in 2009 to focus policy efforts of mayors in the Piedmont-Atlantic Megaregion (PAM) at the scale of a megaregion. This alliance will provide the intellectual and support infrastructure for issues on water, transportation and energy to make the megaregion globally competitive.