Spotlight

Transportation Center Takes Lead

By Ann Carney | USF News

USF's transportation center, a national leader in transit research, has been awarded a $3.5 million grant by the U.S. Department of Transportation to advance transportation research and support the work of local, state and federal transit agencies.

The university's National Center for Transit Research (NCTR) was one of 22 centers nationwide selected to receive the highly competitive grant, which brings with it designation as a national University Transportation Center. NCTR is a consortium of four universities — Florida International University, the University of Illinois at Chicago and North Dakota State University — led by USF.

The grant will be matched with an additional $3.5 million from state and local sources. As the lead university, USF will retain half of the total grant, while the remainder is divided among the three other partners. All partners will collaborate to identify projects and share faculty resources.

Established in 1991, NCTR is part of the Center for Urban Transportation Research in the College of Engineering. The center focuses on improving the nation's transportation system by conducting research, training and teaching, and sharing information with an emphasis on public transportation and alternative forms of transportation that help minimize traffic congestion and offer alternatives to travelers.

This is the third time since 2002 that USF has been selected in a nationwide competition to serve as a federally funded University Transportation Center, according to Joel Volinski, NCTR director, adding that the current grant is by far the largest received by the center to date.

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