Doug Kreis, associate director of the Kentucky Transportation Center (KTC), has been named Interim Director. He will succeed Joe Crabtree, KTC’s current director, upon his retirement on March 1, 2021.
Kreis joined KTC as an entry-level engineer in 1995 and became associate director in 2014. Kreis oversees a number of research programs and research support services at the Center. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in mining engineering from UK in 1995 and a Ph.D. in civil engineering from UK in 2016.
According to KTC staff, Kreis not only works hard to expand the impact of KTC’s research but does so in a loyal, encouraging manner. He has a unique instinct for people and business yet considers each decision carefully. Although his duties take him all over Kentucky and the U.S. to meet with clients and to develop new partnerships, he stays in constant contact with each of his employees. It is not unusual to receive the answer to a question within minutes of asking. He is direct and transparent with his employees and KTC’s partners, as well as generous. He makes sure his employees have the tools and equipment they need to perform at their highest level of productivity.
Crabtree, who attended UK on a transportation scholarship in the mid-1970s, was a research engineer for the state Department of Transportation (DOT) when Kentucky Governor John Y. Brown transferred the DOT’s research functions to UK in 1980. He became KTC’s director in 2010.