USDOT opens NOFO for four new Tier 1 UTCs

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has opened a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) to fund four new Tier 1 University Transportation Centers (UTC) with awards to total $4.925 million.  

“Our University Transportation Centers are not only the seeds of our future transportation system, they serve as living labs, bringing research to reality. Four new UTCs will address a variety of important 21st Century transportation topics,” said USDOT Deputy Assistant Secretary Diana Furchtgott-Roth.

Only U.S. non-profit institutions of higher education are eligible to apply or be members of a proposed UTC consortium. Non-profit institutions of higher education may include qualifying two-year institutions.

Through this NOFO, USDOT intends to fund one UTC in each of the following specific topic areas:

• Highly Automated Transportation Systems Research; 
• Communications Technology and E-Commerce Effects on Travel Demand;
• Implications of Accessible Automated Vehicles and Mobility Services for People with Disabilities; or
• Strategic Implications of Changing Public Transportation Travel Trends.

These Tier 1 UTCs will support research needs that USDOT has identified under two of the FAST Act research priorities (49 U.S.C. § 6503(c)(1)): “Promoting Safety” and “Improving Mobility of People and Goods.”

This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is available now at https://www.grants.gov. For more information on the UTC program, contact Nancy Wilochka, (202) 366-5128.