U.S. Transportation Secretary Norm Mineta announced five grants totaling $5.4 million in support of advanced transportation-related research at University Transportation Centers (UTCs) across the nation.
"To encourage increased innovation, President Bush helped push federal R&D funding for science and technology over $100 billion for the first time in history," Mineta said. "The seed money we invest with these grants will pay dividends for the American public by making transportation safer, more economical and reliable."
More than 75 colleges and universities across the U.S. participate in UTCs to conduct combined programs of transportation research, education and technology transfer. Last year, the UTC colleges and universities graduated over 1,000 students with advanced transportation-related degrees, offered almost 2,000 undergraduate and graduate transportation courses, conducted over 400 research projects and trained over 25,000 practicing transportation professionals.
UTC grants are administered by the Research and Special Programs Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation and must be matched by recipients on a dollar-for-dollar basis at a minimum, leveraging the value of the federal investment.
