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Alumni Profile – October 2008 – Gloria Bender

Gloria Bender is co-founder and Managing Principal of TransSolutions, a Fort Worth-based engineering and consulting firm whose services include planning solutions for transportation facilities, arenas and stadiums, public buildings, and educational facilities. TransSolutions has extensive experience in the aviation industry, completing hundreds of analyses for airport authorities, airlines, and civil aviation administrations, successfully evaluating transportation infrastructure projects at 49 of the 50 largest airports in North America, and nine of the ten largest airports in the world.

Ms. Bender holds B.S. (1982) and M.S. (1988) degrees in Industrial Engineering from UT Arlington. After receiving her bachelor’s degree, she was an industrial engineer and production manager at Sky Chefs. In 1985, she joined Texas Instruments as a quality assurance engineer, and from 1986-1989, served as an engineering manager at Jostens’ ring manufacturing plant in Denton.

Upon receiving her master’s degree, Ms. Bender joined AMR, the parent company of American Airlines, as a planning consultant for American Airlines Decision Technologies. In 1995, the subsidiary moved to The SABRE Group, American’s ticketing and transportation planning division, and she was promoted to Senior Principal/Director. Three years later, Ms. Bender and four associates formed TransSolutions in a management buyout of the Transportation Planning Group from SABRE. Over the past ten years, she has conducted transportation flow studies and provided performance improvements to airports from Bangkok to Boston as well as pedestrian flow analyses for convention centers and the new World Trade Center in New York City. TransSolutions has branch offices in Atlanta and Washington, DC.

Ms. Bender is a Fellow of the Institute of Industrial Engineers and past chair of the Associates and World Business Partners Board of Directors of Airports Council International – North America. She has served as a member on several transportation-related boards and panels and, for the past 10 years, has been a lecturer at the UC Berkeley Airport Planning Course.

A proud UT Arlington alumna, Ms. Bender has assisted the Alumni Association in several capacities, including serving as President of the Board of Directors for 1998-99. She is currently on UT Arlington’s Development Board and on the Advisory Board for the Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering Department.

Ms. Bender provided some thoughts about being an alumna and remembrances of her time at the College of Engineering.

What does it mean to you to be a Maverick? That we truly enjoy investigating and taking the paths not generally followed.

How does this apply to you? Pretty much — I’m a woman engineer (Sadly, we are still a bit rare). Working in the aviation, facility and transportation planning field applying industrial engineering principles that are traditionally served by planners, architects and civil engineers.

What do you know about UT Arlington that others do not? Happily, what I know about UT Arlington is getting much better known by everyone — that we produce great engineers, with the resourcefulness, grit and tenacity to solve our world’s challenges and we are great people to collaborate with in the bargain!

What is your fondest memory of your time on campus? Working with my study group, learning my trade well and forming life-long, rewarding friendships as a bonus!

How has the College of Engineering changed since you graduated? We had two buildings on campus and look at it now — six and counting? The College is in a tough crowd technically (which is good) and is much larger. Recently I had occasion to read the engineering commencement program from my graduation in ’82 as compared to my niece’s engineering commencement program from her graduation this May. It was remarkable how much the College has grown. Also, the graduations are much more festive than they used to be! (By the way, did I mention my fabulous niece, Lauren Skokan, received her Master’s in Biomedical Engineering this May?)

What lessons of life have you learned, before or since then? I think that, by the time I was fortunate enough to return to college at UT Arlington and pursue a career, I had learned how precious life and each and every opportunity really is. Now, no matter how hard the day is, I always try to remind myself what a wonderful gift each day is.

What is most interesting about being an engineer? The opportunity to examine, pull apart and ultimately help others solve problems. Of course watching engineers do this, as compared to how the rest of the world does this and works with us as we do this, is pretty interesting in itself.

What do you hope your legacy will be, both professionally and personally? That I have made a positive difference by creating a company that offers a supportive, ethical work environment where professionals can do fulfilling work, that I have made a positive difference in people’s life and that I have been a good daughter, sister, aunt, wife, friend and citizen.