The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has awarded up to $435 million in grants to 34 University Transportation Centers (UTC).
UTCs advance transportation expertise and technology in the varied disciplines that comprise the field of transportation through education, research and technology transfer activities. Project focus areas include improving the mobility of disadvantaged populations to mitigating impacts of extreme weather impacts on transportation systems to identifying and mitigating cybersecurity risks.
“We are proud to support University Transportation Centers across the country that are developing cutting-edge technologies to improve our transportation systems for years to come,” said Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. “With this investment, we’ll be able to support a new generation of leaders as they continue to pursue research that will usher in safer, cleaner and more accessible ways to get people where they need to go.”
Five National UTCs ($4 million/year each), nine Regional UTCs ($3 million/year each) and 20 Tier One UTCs ($2 million/year each). The five National UTCs include:
- Clemson University that will lead a group to continuously monitor and address the vulnerabilities of cybersecurity associated with transportation cyber-physical-social systems (TCPSS). TCPSS uses computations and communication embedded in and interacting with physical processes to add new capabilities to transportation systems. This UTC will work on identifying challenges and threats across transportation modes, geographies and applications and pioneering advanced cybersecurity strategies and solutions for multimodal transportation.
- Consortia members: Benedict College, Florida International University, Morgan State University (MD), Purdue University, South Carolina State University, University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa, University of California at Santa Cruz and University of Texas at Dallas
- University of California, Davis will lead a group that will focus on accelerating equitable decarbonization that benefits both the transportation system and the well-being of people in overburdened and historically disadvantaged communities. It will concentrate research activities in three critical domains: Vehicle technology to accelerate lower greenhouse gas emissions, infrastructure provision and reshaping travel demand.
- Consortia members: California State University Long Beach, Georgia Institute of Technology, Texas Southern University, University of California Riverside, University of Southern California and University of Vermont.
- Prairie View A&M (TX) University, the first Historically Black College and University (HBCU) to become a national UTC grantee, will lead a group to develop and transfer into practice new technologies or approaches not currently deployed in the transportation system, including novel data and technology approaches related to artificial intelligence and environmental stewardship/resilience. The research activities will aim to develop and deploy interoperable data platforms and technology systems for transportation planning and infrastructure operations.
- Consortia members: Arizona State University, Blinn Community College (TX), Michigan State University, Rutgers University and Texas A&M University
- University of Texas at Austin will lead a group to execute the Transportation Heartbeat of America Survey to collect longitudinal data to understand how travel behavior and demand is evolving. By undertaking this breakthrough research for measuring, monitoring, modeling and managing traveler behaviors, it aims to foster the design, development and operation of a people-centric, multimodal, intelligent transportation system that meets the needs of people, institutions and businesses.
- Consortia members: Arizona State University, California State Polytechnic University Pomona, City College of New York, Diné College (Navajo Nation), Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Michigan and University of Washington
- Carnegie Mellon University will lead a group that will implement an innovative system-of-systems approach to integrate autonomous, connected, electric and shared vehicles technologies into transportation networks. The research will address challenges of connected/automated vehicles (simulation, systems design, validation and testing) and infrastructure (planning, design, condition assessment and monitoring) to equip U.S. companies with innovative technologies, including AI, data analytics, connectivity, edge computing and smart infrastructure.
- Consortia members: Community College of Allegheny County, Community College of Philadelphia, Morgan State University (MD), Ohio State University, University of Pennsylvania and University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
In addition to Prairie View A&M University’s selection as the first HBCU UTC, an additional four HBCUs are consortia members of UTCs selected for an award and another five consortia members are Hispanic-Serving Institutions/Minority Serving Institutions . USDOT explains there is a record number of HBCUs, MSIs and Tribal colleges participating this year.
“The work performed by our next generation of diverse transportation researchers at these centers will help the American people travel more safely, quickly and affordably. The centers at these two-and-four-year colleges and universities advance U.S. technology and expertise in the many disciplines comprising transportation through education, solutions-oriented research and technology transfer and the exploration and sharing of cutting-edge ideas and approaches,” said USDOT Deputy Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology Dr. Robert C. Hampshire.
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act included $90 million in funding per year for the competitively selected UTC Program grants. USDOT says it received a total of 230 grant applications during this competition, which represents the largest number of applications ever submitted in the 35-year history of the UTC Program.
A full list of active UTCs is available at USDOT’s website.
