About Us
Director's Letter 
Hardware to software, human resource management to highway asset management – this range of regional transportation issues is being addressed by UTRC faculty and students. Perhaps these very broad arrays of work underscores how diverse are the opportunities within the field of transportation. UTRC has worked with Civil, Industrial and Electrical Engineers and Computer Scientists; this is expected. But one of our most successful projects is led by a team of Psychologists. We work constantly with Architects, Urban Designers and Urban Planners. We have assembled a strong team of economists and regional scientists to work on a highly visible project for an important regional client. And we have had a Doctor of Education Work on a labor market study for a State DOT. What is most rewarding to the UTRC Faculty is to see the students who have worked on these projects emerge to positions of leadership and responsibility in their agencies, organizations and firms.
It is especially rewarding in Region 2 to see this new generation come into a profession that is full of change and great challenges. The challenges come into a region coping with its economic future as part of a “Global Economy”; what is our role and how we must as transportation professionals guide and select our much needed infrastructure investments. Restoration of Lower Manhattan, a constant and significant regional focus, becomes now one of many regional needs. A new suburban bridge over the Hudson River, a great number of new rail rapid projects, a rail freight tunnel, proposals for Bus Rapid Transit, introduction of IT into our transit systems, serious discussions of road pricing, transportation to meet a 2012 Olympics bid are all on the transportation table. While we are involved with aspects of these projects, our students and Faculty are also involved in projects that respond to these initiatives: community transportation (and economic development) plans, air quality and local health, equity – not only of the transportation users, but among the diverse professional organizations. It is soon clear why multi disciplinary approaches are needed for such complex and immediate issues. Such complexity also highlights the unique contributions that can be made by a consortium of strong academic institutions.
Clearly Region 2 is rich in opportunity. And, through attending meetings with senior agency staff and through classes enriched by talks and discussions with local, national and international practitioners, our students and their mentors –both faculty and professionals – are becoming part of the changes that are shaping our profession. These changes are many faceted; they are within our Transportation agencies as they focus more on meeting stakeholder needs and expectations. They are within our ability to pay for needed infrastructure improvements, forcing us to seek new types of funding and revenues. And they are culture changes brought about by the IT and communications revolutions and modern computing. UTRC is proud to be a part of the Region 2 Transportation community. My colleagues and I hope this website gives you a sense of what we are doing and serves as an invitation to discuss our work or any aspect of transportation with us.
