University Transportation Center
Established at University of Delaware

by Diane Kukich

May 18, 2007

A Tier II University Transportation Center (UTC) has been established at the University of Delaware to address resiliency of transportation corridors. The UDUTC is one of some 60 UTCs throughout the United States funded through the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act (SAFETEA).

The UTC program, which is managed by the Research and Innovative Technology Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation, is aimed at advancing U.S. technology and expertise in the many disciplines comprising transportation.

According to Prof. Sue McNeil, who is serving as UDUTC Director, "The overall goal of the center is to support research, education, and technology transfer that will improve our ability to plan, design, construct, manage, and maintain an advanced transportation infrastructure."

The UDUTC research program will focus on four themes: (1) planning, (2) ecology and the environment, (3) infrastructure renewal, and (4) operations and management. Proposals from interested faculty and interdisciplinary research groups will be solicited and reviewed annually.

The UDUTC undergraduate education program will include an intensive 10-week summer research program for undergraduates, comprising talks by guest speakers, discussion of research tools and techniques, sessions on report writing and oral presentations, and field trips to transportation facilities in and around the Boston-Washington corridor.

The graduate education program will comprise three tracks: systems, bridge engineering, and policy analysis and planning. According to McNeil, all three tracks have a significant interdisciplinary element in both coursework and research. In addition, UDUTC students will take a new required course, Urban Transportation Systems, which covers the key elements of transportation systems analysis, policy, and economics. The program has funds available for graduate student fellowships.

The outreach and technology transfer functions of the UDUTC will be carried out through a newsletter, an annual research showcase, brown-bag lunches and workshops, research briefs, and web-based presentations. In addition, the UDUTC will facilitate pilot projects and demonstrations, visits by UD researchers to DelDOT and other agencies, and faculty participation in advisory roles on government and professional committees.

For more information about the UDUTC, visit the Center's web site at http://www.ce.udel.edu/UTC/index.html.