USDOT awards grants to four new UTCs

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) late last week announced nearly $5 million in grants to fund four new Tier 1 University Transportation Centers (UTC) to advance research and education programs that address critical transportation challenges.

From 67 grant applications, the department selected and awarded grant funds to:
• Highly Automated Transportation Systems Research, $1.9 million to 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, $1 million, to Northwestern University in consortium with the University of California-Berkeley and the University of Texas at Austin;
• Implications of Accessible Automated Vehicles and Mobility Services for People with Disabilities, $1 million, to the University of Pittsburgh in consortium with Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences, The Catholic University of America; and
• Strategic Implications of Changing Public Transportation Travel Trends, $1 million, to Georgia Institute of Technology, in consortium with the University of Tennessee, the University of Kentucky and Brigham Young University.

"These investments in four new transportation research centers will help advance innovation and create new solutions to increase accessibility," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao in a press release.

Each UTC will conduct its research over the next 18 to 24 months. UTCs advance U.S. technology and expertise in transportation modes and address workforce needs for the next generation of industry leaders, USDOT officials said.

A list of other UTC grantees is available here.