Connected, Cooperative, and Automated Mobility (CCAM) is often discussed through the lens of vehicle automation—but its real power emerges when data, infrastructure, and AI work together at a system level.
In this session, experts explore real-world CCAM use cases from the United States, focusing on how AI enhances cooperation between vehicles, infrastructure, and transportation agencies, without being the autonomous driving AI itself.
The discussion will highlight:
This session bridges policy, operations, and technology, offering a practical roadmap for how CCAM can deliver measurable benefits today—improved safety, reduced congestion, and smarter investments—while laying the foundation for future automation.
Ananth Prasad serves as Deputy Director at the Santa Clara County Roads & Airports Department, overseeing roadway infrastructure, traffic signals, and intelligent transportation systems. His work centers on leveraging data, AI/ML, and coordinated system design to improve safety, efficiency, and resilience across large-scale transportation networks. He focuses on the future of cooperative mobility—examining how intelligent systems, governance, and infrastructure must evolve together beyond autonomy.
Ali Mortazavi brings over 19 years of experience advancing transportation and mobility technologies, with a focus on autonomous systems, artificial intelligence, and data-driven decision making. His career spans industry and applied research, bridging advanced technology development with real-world deployment and operational insight.
Ali has contributed to autonomous mobility initiatives across the ecosystem, including work spanning vehicle autonomy, delivery robotics, and large-scale mobility platforms, with programs and teams associated with Zoox, Amazon Scout, and Nissan. His experience includes building data and analytics frameworks that transform complex transportation data into actionable insights for safety, performance, and operations.
He holds a Ph.D. in Transportation Safety from The George Washington University and is a named inventor on more than ten patents related to autonomous mobility, data platforms, and intelligent transportation systems.
Dr. Pedersen has over 20 years of experience in robotic vehicles, self driving cars, system integration, artificial intelligence, human-machine interaction. He holds 20+ patents, and 50+ publications at international conferences and journals, and is a recipient of NASA’s Public Service Medal and the US Antarctic Service Medal.
Dr. Pedersen’s is Chief Scientist at the Nissan Advanced Technology Center – Silicon Valley (NATCSV), where he is responsible for starting new research in autonomous driving, smart city services, vehicle electrification and AI enabled robotics. Prior to Nissan, Dr Pedersen worked at NASA’s Ames Research Center on space rovers for Lunar, Martian and other applications for scientific exploration and emergency response.
Dr Pedersen led Nissan’s participation in CCTA’s Innovate 680 project, under which he worked closely with thought leaders at UC Berkeley, Vanderbilt University as well as the Dutch transportation authorities around Amsterdam.
Randell Iwasaki is an accomplished Executive Director with extensive experience in delivering projects, programs, and innovations in the public sector transportation industry. He is a strong business development professional with expertise in Environmental Awareness, Highway Design, Contract and Construction Management, Innovation, and Transportation Planning.
Randell began his career at the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) in 1983, where he rose through the ranks to become Chief Deputy Director from 2004 to 2009 and then Director from 2009 to 2010, having been appointed by Governor Schwarzenegger. During his time at Caltrans, he received the Charles H. Purcell Award for managerial excellence, given by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, and the "Doers, Dreamers, and Drivers" award from Government Technology Magazine.
Following his tenure at Caltrans, Randell served for over a decade as the Executive Director of the Contra Costa Transportation Authority, one of the most innovative transportation agencies in the United States. While there, he founded GoMentum Station, the largest secure automated vehicle test facility in the nation.
After his time at the Contra Costa Transportation Authority, Randell joined Amazon Web Services (AWS) as the Leader of State and Local Transportation. In this role, he led AWS’s data support and analysis services for state and local transportation agencies, including artificial intelligence applications, new technology development, policy and planning analysis, and traffic operations support.
Currently, Randell is the President and CEO of Iwasaki Consulting Services, Inc. He also serves as a Board Member at Advanced Mobility Analytics Group and Moffatt & Nichol and is a Senior Fellow at the University of California, Berkeley, where he works part-time.
Randell is an internationally recognized leader in transportation research and innovation, particularly in automated and connected vehicle technology development and testing. He has been involved in numerous TRB committees and research panels, often as chair, and served as Chair of the USDOT’s Freight Advisory Committee for three years.
Among his many accolades, Randell received the Thomas H. MacDonald Memorial Award from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials for his contributions to highway engineering. In 2016, Eno Transportation and Shared Mobility Strategies identified him as one of the top 10 public sector transportation innovators in the nation.
In addition to his professional accomplishments, Randell has made significant contributions to education. He donated an Intelligent Transportation Systems Laboratory to the College of Engineering at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where he also served on the Industry Advisory Board and Dean's Advisory Council before his term ended. He continues to support the university's student chapter of the Institute of Transportation Engineers through guest lectures and mentorship.
