Nathan Cherniack

Nathan Cherniack was the 13th President of ITE.  He attended College of the City of New York for two years and graduated from MIT in 1922 with a B.S. in Engineering Administration.  He later received an MBA from New York's University in 1936.  

Mr. Cherniack's entire professional career was on the staff of the Port of New York Authority, most of the time as a transportation economist.  Early in his career Mr. Cherniack was a pioneer in conducting origin and destination surveys.  This data was then applied to determine the economic feasibility of toll facilities.  These studies were made as early as 1924 and resulted in two Port Authority bridges being opened to traffic in 1928.  

Mr. Cherniack also did O/D surveys for the George Washington Bridge and the Bayonne Bridge facilities which opened in 1931.  He also did economic feasibility studies while "on loan" from the Port Authority to the Triboro Bridge and Tunnel Authority for some of their new facilities.  In the 1930s he did original research in the field of traffic patterns and their use to estimate traffic volumes.  Shortly after the war he wrote significant papers attesting to the need to incorporate parking structures with new development.

He was also a lecturer for many years at the Yale and Harvard University Bureau of Highway Traffic, Columbia University and Rutgers.  He served actively as a member in the American Society of Civil Engineers, American Statistical Association and was President of the the Society of Terminal Engineers.

He received in 1960 the Howard S. Cullman Distinguished Service Medal from the Port Authority, only the second recipient of this medal.  The citation indicated that the award was given for "his wisdom and integrity and untiring efforts."

At the time of his retirement in February, 1968 from the Port Authority, Mr. Cherniack had worked over 44 years with the bi-state agency.