CITSM Organized the University Research Technology Transfer Day at USDOT

The Center for Integrated Transportation Systems Management (CITSM) of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Maryland organized a one-day demonstration/exhibition of prominent university transportation products, that are developed with US DOT sponsorship, in partnership with the DOT’s Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA). This event was held on April 6, 2011, in the DOT Headquarters building in Washington, D.C. The purpose of this event was to highlight the accomplishments and show the impact of DOT’s college- and university-based research and education programs. In addition, this event highlighted the transfer of technology from the university transportation programs in use at various federal, state and local agencies.

The original idea for this event was conceived during the RITA Administrator, Mr. Appel’s visit to CITSM in July 2010. The permission from RITA to organize this event was granted in late December and the original announcement for the event was sent via e-mail on January 12, 2011. A planning meeting was held in the annual TRB meeting in which several of University Transportation Center directors participated. The solicitation for the abstracts of the research to be showcased in this event was sent out on January 31^st, 2011. Despite the short notice and the short time window for submission, 57 high quality abstracts were received.

Despite the desire to accommodate all abstracts that were submitted, because of the limited space some tough choices had to be made and therefore, the abstracts were sent for external review. The reviews were double blind and each abstract was reviewed by 3 reviewers. The evaluation criteria included:

1. Quality and intellectual merit of the research;

2. Significance of contribution to the state-of-the-art and practice;

3. National relevance and potential for national use;

4. Observed or potential impact, and,

5. Relevance to the DOT strategic research directions and research priority areas.

Following the review process, 27 abstracts were selected for presentation in this event. Researchers representing 25 different universities, Federal Highway Administration and Federal Aviation Administration, attended the event and showcased some of the outstanding and high impact research that is sponsored by the US Department of Transportation. Six of the projects that were presented in the poster session were also selected for podium sessions in which the researchers shared their experiences in bringing their research to practice. Two of the CITSM projects led by Drs. Mehdi Kalantari Khandani and Gang Len Chang were selected for presentation in this event. Dr. Chang’s project was also presented in one of the podium sessions.

The event started by a welcoming address from Mr. Peter Appel who introduced Mr. John Porcari, Deputy Secretary of Transportation, former State of Maryland Secretary of Transportation, and former University of Maryland Vice President for Administration. Following Mr. Porcari’s remarks, Mr. Greg Nadeau, Deputy Administrator, Federal Highway Administration spoke and then Dr. Ali Haghani, Chairman of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Director of CITSM welcomed the event participants who were university program directors, faculty/staff, involved students, U.S. DOT personnel, state DOT personnel, and other interested parties. This event was open to the media.

Published April 8, 2011