The U.S. Department of Transportation is seeking applications for a new round of more than $4.9 million in grants to fund four new Tier 1 University Transportation Centers or UTCs.
“Our UTCs are not only the seeds of our future transportation system, they serve as living labs, bringing research to reality,” explained Diana Furchtgott-Roth, USDOT deputy assistant secretary, in a statement on March 30. “Four new UTCs will address a variety of important 21st century transportation topics.”
Through a new notice of funding opportunity, she said the agency 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; and strategic implications of changing public transportation travel trends.
The USDOT noted that only U.S. non-profit institutions of higher education are eligible to apply or to be members of a proposed UTC consortium. Non-profit institutions of higher education may include qualifying two-year institutions, the agency added.
