Thomas Hicks, P.E., director of the Office of Traffic and Safety at the Maryland State Highway Administration, was named the 2004 recipient of the Alfred E. Johnson Achievement Award. The 21-year-old award honors contributions to management in the field of highway engineering. Hicks received his award during the recent AASHTO annual meeting in Philadelphia, PA.

During almost five decades in the transportation field, Hicks held posts in the transportation departments of the District of Columbia, New Jersey, Oklahoma, and Maryland. Hicks also served a number of professional organizations, including 42 years with the AASHTO Subcommittee on Traffic Engineering, where he currently is vice chair.

Committed to the development of transportation in academia, Hicks served on the faculty of a mentoring program on transportation management systems at Texas A & M University and helped develop Maryland's Traffic Engineering Skills Training program with the University of Maryland and private business.

In 1991, Hicks received the AASHTO President's Transportation Award in the category of "Highway Traffic Safety" and the Institute of Transportation Engineers' Theodore M. Matson Memorial Award in 1999. Hicks resides in Towson, MD, and holds degrees from the University of Maryland and Yale University.