January 18, 2023, Pueblo, CO – MxV Rail is proud to announce that Ryan Sheehan, Principal Systems Engineer, has been selected as one of International Railway Journal’s (IRJ’s) Young Leaders in Rail Award winners for 2022.
All the award winners from this year’s inaugural competition are featured in the Journal’s December 2022 issue. According to press material, IRJ is keenly aware that a number of talented and highly regarded young people are doing remarkable things and driving the industry forward, despite the industry-wide challenges of an aging workforce and some dated perceptions. The goal of the Young Rail Leader Awards is to, “shine a light on 10 young people who are making an impact.” Finalists work in different areas of the industry globally, and many look well placed to become leading figures in the years ahead. By bringing their work to industry’s wider attention, the hope is to support progress and inspire others.
Sheehan was honored, and at a loss for words, when we learned about the award.
Sheehan says the greatest challenge of this work is the new skillsets and the different roles and responsibilities it requires from the industry. He describes the essential challenge as taking “rail systems engineering principles and make them apply across the wider industry, taking everyone who is working on it along with you.” Yet, it is this close collaboration with colleagues at MxV as well as the North American Class I railroads and suppliers which Sheehan finds the most rewarding element of his job.
Sheehan has been with the engineering team at MxV Rail since 2012. Among other accomplishments, he is a key leader in the development of the concept, architecture, and initial specifications for the Automatic Train Operation (ATO) program, which harnesses PTC infrastructure as a backbone, and aims to integrate existing and emerging technology to support increased levels of automation to enhance operational consistency and safety. He has also overseen the development of the industry safety program to support the ATO concept and is now leading an effort to prepare a coordinated industry automation development program and roadmap.
Originally, Sheehan studied mechatronics engineering at Colorado State University Pueblo. His senior projects included an automatic guitar tuner that simultaneously tunes six strings at once (using servo motors and electromagnetic sensors), and a two-joint robotic arm that writes alphabetical letters (using DC motors and potentiometers). His eagerness to learn as well as contribute to technical research helped accelerate his career at MxV Rail.
“IRJ’s award for Ryan is very well deserved,” said Joe Brosseau at MxV Rail who nominated Sheehan. “There is no limit to his initiative; he is an amazing team player, and he is a great public speaker. His leadership and technical skills, along with his desire to achieve more, will take him to great heights, and will benefit the industry immensely as his career progresses. We look forward to many, many more years of his success.”
Read more about International Railway Journal’s 2022 Young Leaders in Rail here
Learn more about MxV Rail’s growing team on our Careers page
Contact: Niki Toussaint, AVP Marketing, niki_toussaint@aar.com
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