ATSSA Signal November December 2020

American Traffic Safety Services Association 22 Innovation UTCs advance cutting-edge transportation technologies Congressionally mandated since 1987, the University Transportation Centers Program addresses U.S. transportation needs through education and research. The success of the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute in Blacksburg, Va., can be attributed, in no small part, to the U.S. Department of Transportation Univ. Transportation Center (UTC) program, which was established by Congress in 1987. The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) was created one year later in direct response to the UTC program. Orig- inally called the Center for Transportation Research, this early version of VTTI served as part of a Penn State-led team. Along with the Univ. of Virginia, the three universities were known as theMid-AtlanticUniversities TransportationCenter (MAUTC) and operated in cooperation with the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT). UTC is a federal initiative throughwhich theU.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) awards and administers grants to colleges and universities nationwide. The goal is to spur the advancement of state-of-the-art transportation research and technology, aswell as a strong educational programthat seeks to train the future workforce for themultidisciplinary needs of the nation’s transportation future. EachUTC is a consortiumof two- and four-year colleges and universities that come together to form a unique center of transportationexcellenceonaspecific research topic. Together, they advance U.S. technology and expertise in the many disciplines comprising transportation education, solutions- oriented research and technology transfer, and the explo- ration and sharing of cutting-edge ideas and approaches. VTTI credits its early evolution to working with an interdis- ciplinary base of faculty members and students at MAUTC consortium institutions. With this strong foundation, the institute expanded to include hundreds of research spon- sors, partners, and clients fromboth the public and private sectors. Over the decades, VTTI has been involved in multiple UTCs, including leading the Tier 1 Connected Vehicle/Infrastruc- ture Univ. Transportation Center (CVI-UTC) from 2012–16 and serving as a consortium member of the Mid-Atlantic Transportation Sustainability Univ. Transportation Center (MATS UTC) led by the Univ. of Virginia. Currently, the insti- tute leads the national Safety through Disruption (Safe-D) UTC and is a consortiummember of two Tier 1 UTCs. Internationally recognized for their capacity to lead, inno- vate, and educate, UTCs continue to enhance and transform the U.S. transportation system, keeping it in step with the nation’s economic, environmental, and societal goals. UTCs currently engaged in traffic safety, mobility, and infrastructure research TRAFFIC SAFETY—Promoting Safety Lead: Univ. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Members: Duke Univ.; Florida Atlantic Univ.; Univ. of California, Berkeley; Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville Lead: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State Univ., Blacksburg, Va. Members: San Diego State Univ.; Texas A&MUniv. Lead: Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich. Members: Central State Univ.; Purdue Univ.; Univ. of Akron; Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Washtenaw Community College Lead: Univ. of Nebraska, Lincoln Members: Lincoln Univ.; Missouri Univ. of Science and Technology; Nebraska Indian Community College; Univ. of Iowa; Univ. of Kansas; Univ. of Nebraska Medical Center; Univ. of Nebraska, Omaha MOBILITY—Improving mobility of people and goods Lead: Carnegie Mellon Univ., Pittsburgh Members: Community College of Allegheny County; Univ. of Pennsylvania; Ohio State Univ. Lead: Portland State Univ., Portland, Ore. Members: Oregon Institute of Technology; Univ. of Arizona; Univ. of Oregon; Univ. of Texas at Arlington; Univ. of Utah Lead: Univ. of Southern California, Los Angeles Members: California State Univ., Long Beach; Northern Arizona Univ.; Pima Community College; Univ. of California, Davis; Univ. of California, Irvine; Univ. of California, Los Angeles; Univ. of Hawaii at Manoa Lead: Univ. of Washington, Seattle Members: Boise State Univ.; Gonzaga Univ.; Oregon State Univ.; Univ. of Alaska, Fairbanks; Univ. of Idaho; Washington State Univ. Lead: Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta Members: Brigham Young Univ.; Univ. of Kentucky; Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville