Innovation in the transportation sector can be transformative, improving efficiency and equity while reducing social and environmental harm. Recent work completed by congressionally mandated university transportation center (UTC) programs has made meaningful progress toward attaining these goals. For more than 36 years, the U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) has invested in the country’s transportation future through its UTCs [University Transportation Centers] Program.

The initiative supports consortia of nonprofit two- and four-year academic institutions in focusing on federally designated esearch priorities. With renewed authorization under the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law), U.S. DOT is now administering $435 million in funding for nearly three dozen competitively selected UTCs through FY 2026 (1). The UTC program focuses on technology transfer, ensuring that transportation research investments result in patents or changes to regulations or practices. U.S. DOT identifies technology transfer as a strategic priority in its Research, Development, and Technology Strategic Plan (FY 2022–2026).1 The plan notes that UTCs serve as a high-impact mechanism to leverage and deploy federal investments in transportation research. Translating research projects into improvements in the transportation sector, as U.S. DOT envisions, requires innovation, collaboration, and communication. These are areas in which UTCs excel. Institutional expertise and cross-disciplinary partnerships enable UTCs to identify urgent research questions that have real-world applications. With scientifically sound research findings in hand, UTCs engage government, industry, and community partners to ensure that results reach intended….read more