(Article from WTI eNews April 2011)
Successful research partnerships developed by the University Transportation Center program were the focus of a cover article in the January/February 2011 issue of Public Roads magazine. WTI Director Steve Albert and O. A. Elrahman, head of Research Coordination & Technology Transfer in the Transportation R&D Bureau at the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), authored “Pooling Talent and Technologies – How University Transportation Centers are improving transportation through innovative partnerships, creating a win-win for government, universities, industry — and motorists.” The article describes the evolution of the UTC model for transportation research and education, and how UTCs continue to play a leadership role by coordinating collaborative research on critical and emerging issues. “UTCs have developed their own expertise and facilities for conducting transportation research, but they are also in an excellent position to pool and leverage resources from multiple partners,” Albert explained; “we wanted to emphasize how UTCs, public agencies and private businesses can integrate their individual strengths toward the development of a new transportation tool or practice.”
Drawing from the work of UTCs around the country, the article describes numerous examples of collaborations to create real-world transportation solutions, as well as workforce development efforts to train the next generation of transportation professionals. “We were pleased to be able to showcase some of the successful initiatives spearheaded by University Transportation Centers and how they’re providing national leadership on advancing the state of transportation,” Albert concluded.
The full article is available at www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/publicroads/11janfeb/06.cfm
For more information on UTCs, please contact WTI Director Steve Albert