The U.S. Department of Transportation this week that the National Center for Sustainable Transportation, housed at the 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis Institute of Transportation Studies, will receive $20 million to lead a group of seven universities studying transportation effects on the environment. The award reinforces 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis鈥 standing as the nation鈥檚 leading university center on sustainable transportation.
The funding was granted as part of the Department of Transportation鈥檚 University Transportation Centers Program. This year鈥檚 grant competition drew 230 applications, the most ever in the program鈥s 35-year history. The Davis-based center is one of only five national transportation centers awarded under the University Transportation Centers Program, and the only one focused on the Department of Transportation, or DOT, research priority of 鈥淧reserving the Environment.鈥
The $20 million grant ($4 million per year over five years) will allow researchers at 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis and other consortium member universities to focus on accelerating equitable decarbonization that benefits both the transportation system and the well-being of people in overburdened and historically disadvantaged communities.
3 critical domains
Research activities will concentrate in three critical domains: vehicle technology, infrastructure provision and reshaping travel demand to accelerate reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
鈥淔inding a way to decarbonize transportation that does not exacerbate existing inequities is one of the most significant societal challenges we face,鈥 said Susan Handy, 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis professor and director of the National Center for Sustainable Transportation, or NCST. 鈥淚 am thrilled that we will have the opportunity to work with the U.S. Department of Transportation on this challenge and continue the important work we鈥檝e been doing for the last nine years. With the new grant, we will expand our focus on equity and justice and launch new initiatives on rural mobility, vehicle electrification and sustainable freight.鈥
Expanded consortium
The new grant also enables the center to expand its consortium. 鈥淲e are delighted to welcome Texas Southern University to our partnership,鈥 Handy said. TSU joins the original consortium members: California State University Long Beach; Georgia Institute of Technology; 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Riverside; University of Southern California; and University of Vermont.
鈥淭SU is honored to join the highly prestigious team of NCST and is truly excited for the opportunity to make contributions to research and education that promote a sustainable and equitable transportation development,鈥 said Lei Yu, professor of Transportation Studies and director of TSU鈥檚 Innovative Transportation Research Institute.
Transforming transportation
This round of funding marks the second time 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis has been able to renew its status as the host of the National Center for Sustainable Transportation.
Since its establishment in 2013, the NCST has helped to organize and fund research addressing urgent and critical transportation challenges, and its researchers have partnered with thought leaders and stakeholder groups to provide national leadership for advancing an environmentally sustainable transportation system.
鈥淚TS-Davis is proud and honored to receive this award, recognizing our decadeslong commitment to sustainable transportation,鈥 said Professor Dan Sperling, founding director of ITS-Davis. 鈥淜udos to Susan Handy, our fearless leader of the center since the first award from the DOT in 2013. We are on a mission to transition our transportation system to a more equitable, environmental and economically sustainable future 鈥 in the U.S. and globally.鈥
The NCST provides national leadership in advancing environmentally sustainable transportation through cutting-edge research, direct policy engagement and education of our future leaders.
Media Resources
Media Contacts:
- Samuel Chiu, 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis Institute of Transportation Studies, sachiu@ucdavis.edu
- Kat Kerlin, 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis News and Media Relations, 530-750-9195, kekerlin@ucdavis.edu