The U.S. Department of Transportation on Thursday, Aug. 19, announced more than $13.8 million in grants to eight University Transportation Centers (UTC) located throughout the United States to advance research and education programs that address critical transportation challenges facing the nation. The awards were made by DOT’s Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA).

UTCs conduct research that directly support DOT’s priorities and are part of its national transportation strategy. “By investing in research at our nation’s universities, we are helping to address today’s transportation needs while we train tomorrow’s transportation professionals,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says.

“Sound science and rigorous analysis provide a solid foundation for the development of transportation policy,” says RITA Administrator Peter H. Appel. “The UTC program plays a key role in supporting collaborative research and transportation work force development that will help us create a truly 21st century transportation system.”

The only UTC associated with a medical school, the University Transportation Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB-UTC) works to address and resolve transportation safety, trauma care and injury control issues associated with the ways individuals travel. UAB-UTC will use a $550,000 grant to continue research on ways to reduce emergency medical services response times in congested areas, traffic management emergency preparedness and distracted driving.

Headquartered at UC Berkeley, the University of California Transportation Center will use a $2,082,800 grant to fund research on a range of issues including goods movement, air quality impact assessment, eco-friendly driving and transit-oriented development. Funds also will provide support for graduate student fellowships and technology transfer.

The NEXTRANS Center, headquartered at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., has been awarded $2,082,800 to develop integrated and innovative solutions to transportation challenges by explicitly capturing the interactions between vehicle, traveler and infrastructure.

The University of Maryland’s Center for Integrated Transportation Systems Management will receive $926,700 to continue developing advanced technology, improving processes and enhancing organizational structures for the integrated management and operation of transportation facilities and corridors.