news

USDOT awards $4.9 million to four new University Transportation Centers

Posted: 3 August 2020 |

The University Transportation Centers have been awarded the grants in a bid to accelerate research and education into American transportation solutions.

USDOT awards $4.9 million to four new University Transportation Centers

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has announced $4.925 million in grants to fund four new Tier 1 University Transportation Centers (UTCs) which aim to advance research and education programmes that address critical transportation challenges facing the U.S..

“These investments in four new transportation research centres will help advance innovation and create new solutions to increase accessibility,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary, Elaine L. Chao.

The Department received 67 grant applications for the four new Tier 1 UTCs for important and topical research.  From those applications, the Department selected:

  • Highly Automated Transportation Systems Research ($1.925 million) – Ohio State University (in consortium with the University of California, Irvine, University of Texas at Austin, and the University of Cincinnati)
  • Communications Technology and E-Commerce Effects on Travel Demand ($1 million) – Northwestern University(in consortium with the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Texas, Austin)
  • Implications of Accessible Automated Vehicles and Mobility Services for People with Disabilities ($1 million) – University of Pittsburgh (in consortium with the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences, The Catholic University of America)
  • Strategic Implications of Changing Public Transportation Travel Trends ($1 million) – Georgia Institute of Technology (in consortium with the University of Tennessee, the University of Kentucky, and Brigham Young University).

“Researchers at these four new UTCs and their consortium members will address important 21st century transportation topics,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology, Diana Furchtgott-Roth.  

Each UTC will conduct its research over the next 18 to 24 months.