NEW YORK – New Yorkers are well accustomed to the easy access to urban transit that takes them to major cities along the Northeast seaboard. Entrepreneur Elon Musk has proposed a Hyperloop transit system that would completely change travel as we know it – connecting travelers to New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington D.C. in only a fraction of the current travel time. But how realistic are these plans, and when should travelers expect to take their first ride?

Journalists are invited to get on the inside track of the development of Hyperloop technology from noon to 1 p.m. on Dec. 6. Three experts from the national Hyperloop Advanced Research Partnership (HARP), including a former White House National Security Council staff director and two national transportation policy analysts, will answer technology and policy questions, and talk about the greatest challenges facing the tube transportation industry. They’ll also delve into the ways Hyperloop will contribute to national security and defense.

HARP is a nonprofit professional association focused on education and research to advance Hyperloop transportation technology. In addition to this media-only lunch, the group is hosting a ticketed public panel event on the evening of Dec. 6, “The Hyperloop: Promises and Challenges.” Similar to other events hosted in Denver and Houston this year, it will convene leading transportation visionaries and policy experts who are shaping the future of high-speed tube transportation through public, private and academic partnerships.

Presenters at the journalists-only lunch include:

• Rick Geddes is a professor in the Department of Policy Analysis and Management at Cornell University and a core faculty member of the Cornell Institute for Public Affairs. His research focuses on policies toward the funding and financing of major infrastructure projects in the transportation and water sectors. This includes innovative financing approaches such as public-private partnerships.
   
• Dane Egli is president of the HARP board of directors. He specializes in national security, systems engineering and critical infrastructure resilience. He served in the White House on the National Security Council staff as a director for counterterrorism and global counternarcotics, and was the senior advisor to President George W. Bush on hostage rescue policy.
   
• Chris Zahas is also on the HARP board of directors. He is a real estate strategist and project manager with an emphasis on urban corridors, downtown revitalization, employment districts, transit-oriented development and public-private partnerships. In the transportation realm, he is an expert on the linkage between transit and land use.
   
• Andrew Hawkins, transportation reporter for The Verge, will serve as moderator. In addition to prior coverage of the Hyperloop, Hawkins covers ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft, public transit, policy, infrastructure, hoverboards and the physical act of moving through space and time. He has been at The Verge since October 2015.

About Inside Cornell: This event is part of a series held in New York City featuring high-interest experts working at Cornell University in Ithaca and in New York City. The free, catered lunch sessions are on-the-record, and media members are welcome to record video and audio as desired.