THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 8, 1996 TAG: 9609080055
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY JEFFREY S. HAMPTON, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: 74 lines
Elizabeth City resident Wayne K. Talley is one of the best at what he does, but you won't find his picture on a box of Wheaties.
His statistical research of the transportation field, covering everything from ships to subways, has revealed solutions to some of the great problems of moving things and people from one place to another.
The results have been published in more than 100 scholarly journals and four books. He gets limited attention from politicians or talk-show hosts, but his peers have honored him repeatedly.
Talley, a professor of economics at Old Dominion University, is one of 29 eminent scholars there. He has held an endowed chair there for almost three years.
And last month he received the Thomas Rivers Distinguished Chair in International Affairs to East Carolina University at Greenville.
One endowed chair is a rare honor. Talley now holds two.
``Transportation gets in your blood,'' Talley said. ``Every day is different. Something happening every day.''
Talley, 54, looks the part of a scholar. His dark, closely-cropped beard and hair are peppered with gray. He usually wears a conservative sports shirt and slacks and dark-rimmed glasses. Talley is married and has three grown children.
Each week, he teaches two courses at ODU on Monday and Tuesday. The rest of the week he teaches in Greenville. His term at ECU concludes in December.
An endowed chair is one of the highest honors given a professor, though it rarely means great financial gain. An endowment provides extra funds for attending conferences, allows more time for research and looks good on the resume.
Talley graduated with a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Richmond. While he was as student there, he worked as a clerk for Overnite Trucking. That's where he discovered that he loved the business of transportation.
After receiving his doctorate in economics from the University of Kentucky, Talley began teaching at ODU. When none of his colleagues in the College of Business and Public Administration wanted to teach a course in transportation, Talley volunteered. He's been taking on tough issues in his field ever since.
The Exxon Valdez oil spill and the subsequent laws to prevent future mishaps prompted an article by Talley.
Talley's research showed that ensuring the person steering the ship is properly trained prevents more oil spills than anything else.
``If everything else is the same, then it makes a difference if the person at the helm is certified,'' Talley said.
Even the International Maritime Organization, which oversees the shipping industry, has found that double hulls cost more than they are worth, he said.
``Most agree that the majority of accidents at sea are caused by human error.''
Nevertheless, Talley said, the government may take years to require helmsmen to be certified.
``It's a very slow process.''
Some problems may never go away. Talley said public transit systems will not be viable until the population of the United States reaches about 1 billion. Even in cities like New York and Chicago, the government subsidizes about half the expense of public transportation.
``In some cases you could let people ride for free, and they still wouldn't take the bus,'' Talley said.
He said the nation's highways and bridges, overloaded with traffic, are in bad shape.
``It's great for politicians to build a bridge and go cut the ribbon,'' he said. ``It's not as glamorous to maintain those bridges.''
The solution is money. Rather than raise taxes, the trend is to charge tolls, Talley said.
Talley drives a Chevrolet Cavalier. Does this scholar who has scrutinized most methods of transportation have an informed reason for his choice of vehicles? Not really. He has a relative that buys a new car every two years, and he buys the used one.
``I get them at a good price.'' by CNB