N.C. A&T-Led Consortium Receives Share of $300 Million DOT Grant

GREENSBORO, N.C. (Jan. 24, 2017) - A consortium led by North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University has been awarded a $1.4 million grant, renewable for up to five years and $7.8 million, by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s University Transportation Centers (UTC) Program.

The grant will be used to establish and manage the Center for Advanced Transportation Mobility (CATM) through N.C. A&T’s Transportation Institute. CATM also includes Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and the University of the District of Columbia Community College and is directed by Maranda E. McBride, also director of N.C. A&T’s Transportation Institute and an associate professor of Management, who is the principal investigator on the grant.

UTC programs are designed to advance state-of-the-art transportation research and technology, and develop the next generation of transportation professionals. The goal of each UTC is to form a unique center of transportation excellence on a specific research topic. CATM will focus on improving the mobility of people and goods.

“Our nation faces unprecedented challenges from population growth, a changing climate and increasing freight volumes. Universities are at the forefront of identifying solutions, researching critical emerging issues and ensuring improved access to opportunity for all Americans,” said Anthony Foxx, former U.S. Transportation Secretary under the Obama Administration. “This competition supports the future transportation workforce by providing students with opportunities to take part in cutting-edge research with leading experts in the field.”

The work of UTCs will help the United States meet the impacts outlined in “Beyond Traffic,” a draft report documenting trends and challenges to the nation’s transportation system over the next 30 years.

The Congressionally-mandated program has been in place since 1987 to help address the nation’s ever-growing need for the safe, efficient and environmentally sound movement of people and goods.

“This is great news for N.C. A&T and the city of Greensboro” said North Carolina Congresswoman Alma Adams. “This grant will provide crucial funding for students to develop cutting-edge research in transportation to improve our city’s infrastructure, protect the environment and plan for future growth. This funding will equip our local engineering students to advance their research in a way that will substantially impact our city.”

Together, UTCs advance U.S. technology and expertise in the many disciplines comprising transportation through education, solutions-oriented research and technology transfer and the exploration and sharing of cutting-edge ideas and approaches.

Thirty-Two UTCs across the country will share $300.3 million to advance transportation research and address critical transportation challenges facing the nation.

The UTC program supports applied and academic research on national transportation priorities at up to 35 competitively-selected colleges and university consortia across the United States, currently encompassing over 100 institutions of higher education. This year, for the first time, two-year institutions of higher education were eligible to partner in the UTC consortia. UTCs work with regional, state, and local transportation agencies and private sector partners to help find solutions to challenges that directly impact their communities and affect the efficiency of the nation’s transportation system.

A complete list of 2016 UTC Grant Award recipients is available online.