The program

The members of the Missouri Hyperloop Coalition (University of Missouri System, Virgin Hyperloop One, Black & Veatch, Olsson & Associates, Missouri Innovation Center, MODOT, various Missouri Chambers of Commerce, KC Tech Council, etc.) were brought together to provide the engineering analysis and project feasibility investigation for a hyperloop corridor conceptually routed along Missouri’s historic I-70 corridor.

More than a year of planning, travel, team formation, and engineering analysis resulted in the Missouri Hyperloop Coalition producing the Missouri Hyperloop Feasibility Study and announcing results in October 2018.

Dozens of interviews, thousands of articles, and millions of mentions in social media platforms resulted as product of the feasibility study’s conclusions that Missouri’s I-70 corridor presents a compelling value proposition for what could be the first commercial hyperloop in the United States—and potentially the world.

In this presentation, moderator Steve Kraske will lead a discussion of the Missouri Hyperloop Feasibility Study, as well as an in-depth Q&A session with audience members. Joining Mr. Kraske will be Missouri Hyperloop Coalition members (including Virgin Hyperloop One) who assessed the feasibility of the Missouri hyperloop. In particular, panel members will summarize ongoing Missouri Hyperloop Coalition discussions about local, state, and federal-level momentum that is building behind the prospect of making Missouri the first in the US with a commercially operational hyperloop.

Moderator:

Steve Kraske, Associate Teaching Professor of Journalism at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and host of "Up to Date" on KCUR.

Panelists:

Ismaeel Babur, Senior Civil Engineer, Virgin Hyperloop One, Los Angeles, California

Drew Thompson, Project Manager, Data Systems, Black & Veatch, Kansas City, Missouri

Ryan Weber, President, KC Tech Council, Kansas City, Missouri

Diana Zhou, Director of Project Strategy, Virgin Hyperloop One, Los Angeles, California