Research

UTRC Research Program Mission

To develop critical size groups and disciplines responsive to candidate problems identified under the theme.

Program Details

To ensure that the Center's research program is responsive to sponsors' needs, formal meetings are held regularly to update the research agenda, discuss research results, and evaluate the effectiveness of the overall program. The highlight of these exchanges is an annual research conference which brings together top technical and managerial staff from all major transportation agencies, faculty from the 12 member universities, and high level managers of national transportation programs. At the research conference, high priority regional concerns are addressed; this sets the stage for group discussions focusing on the research areas. The product of these discussions is a set of draft research statements. Through a series of meetings and tele-conferences with agency representatives, the UTRC Research and Technology Transfer Committee develops the annual request for proposals (RFPs) which includes solicitations for specific projects that regional transportation agencies are willing to support.

UTRC conducts research in critical areas related to transit, intermodalism, infrastructure and regional funding and pricing. To develop the annual research agenda, UTRC organizes a "Regional Research Conference" which brings together mid-to-upper level agency managers and university researchers to determine regional research needs.

Over the years, the Center has developed stronger relationships with local sponsors by being more responsive to their needs. As a result, state and local transportation agencies are seeking the Center's help, on a regular basis, to deal with research and training problems that require academic inputs, or the application of state-of-the-art technologies. It is expected that more public agencies and private organizations will participate in the UTRC Research program.