The fast lane to innovation: University Transportation Centers provide our Nation with an effective vehicle for transportation progress

Public Roads, May-June, 2003 by Marci Kenney

As our Nation grows and strives to develop a safe, environmentally benign, and efficient transportation system, investments in human and capital resources are needed to explore new issues, address existing concerns, and chart innovative ground in the transportation field. Enter the University Transportation Centers (UTC) program. Aimed at advancing technology and expertise in the transportation field through education, cutting-edge research, and technology transfer at university-based centers of excellence, the UTC program awards grants to nonprofit institutions of higher learning to create and maintain research centers.

A primary goal of the UTC program is to increase the number of students, faculty, and staff who are attracted to transportation work at the undergraduate, graduate, and professional levels. Each year, the research centers educate thousands of students in the many disciplines that comprise the transportation field, producing future leaders for the transportation community. The centers also build partnerships with State and local governments, transit agencies, metropolitan planning organizations, and industry.

History in The Making

In 1987, the Surface Transportation and Uniform Relocation Assistance Act authorized the creation of 10 regional UTCs. The program pledged a total of $40 million over 4 years and required that each UTC match Federal funds dollar for dollar. At the time, the mission of the UTC program was primarily transportation research and technology transfer.

Then, in 1991, the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) designated another nine UTCs at named institutions and added education to the UTC mission. ISTEA authorized $115.5 million over 6 years.

The UTC program was expanded again in 1998, when the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) authorized $194.8 million for grants to establish and operate up to 33 UTCs throughout the United States for fiscal years 1998 to 2003. Through a competitive process in 1999, 10 of those UTCs were designated as regional centers, while the other 23 are located at universities named in TEA-21.

After a limited competition among the named universities in FY 2002 required under TEA-21, the program now comprises 26 grantees. TEA-21 also modified the program slightly, establishing education as one of the primary objectives, institutionalizing the use of strategic planning in university grant management, and reinforcing the program's focus on multimodal transportation.

Today, the U.S. Department of Transportation's (USDOT) Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA) manages the program, with funding provided by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). The requirement of matching Federal dollars continues, and UTCs must produce a strategic plan for USDOT, a directory of key personnel, research project descriptions, semiannual and annual progress reports, and final research reports, and each must operate its own Web site. All UTCs conduct research projects that address key national issues related to a USDOT-approved theme that directly supports the goals of TEA-21 and USDOT's overall strategic plan. The themes include organizational excellence, safety security, mobility economic growth, and human and natural environments.

Organizational Excellence

No organization or industry can flourish without the education and specialized training of future employees. UTCs prepare students to be leaders in their field through hands-on training and extensive research experience. Consequently, the transportation industry has a broad base of highly skilled and educated students from which to draw employees. USDOT and the UTCs also are dedicated to increasing the number of women and minorities in the transportation industry.

Under the current UTC grants, which began in 1998, 11 new transportation-related graduate-degree programs have been established at 80 participating universities. The new degree programs represent a permanent increase in the presence of transportation on the Nation's university campuses and thus in the number of students who choose transportation careers. (See "Results from Year 1 of TEA-21 Grants.")

Another role of UTCs in fostering organizational excellence involves technology transfer--the sharing of important research findings to ensure that all related programs and transportation professionals have the most up-to-date information possible. The UTCs thus pave the for further scientific and technological advancement.

Safety

Safety is the primary concern of the transportation community. To create safer and more secure roadways and transit systems, UTCs across the Nation are developing more durable materials, designing and redesigning highways, and working to enhance traffic management. UTCs also are performing research to improve travel safety in different climates and educating drivers and highway personnel in safety and the prevention of crashes.

"Road safety has to be approached on many fronts," says Dr. Daniel Turner, director of the UTC at the University of Alabama. "For example, our researchers are studying more effective ways of identifying drivers with diminished physical capabilities, including poor vision."