U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation would make $33 million available for the University Transportation Centers (UTC) program.
The Notice of Funding Opportunity will advance transportation science and innovation, Duffy said, and is repurposed from UTC grants Duffy terminated earlier this year that he termed “woke.”
“Under President Trump, we are focused on enhancing safety and unleashing American innovation. Gone are the days of funding Green New Scam and woke DEI initiatives that waste taxpayer dollars. Instead, we are investing in automated vehicles, artificial intelligence and new ways for people to work safely with machines—technology that will define the future of transportation,” Duffy said.
Duffy said the UTC grant program now focused on prioritizing ways to increase safety on American transportation, including through automated vehicles and driving systems, artificial intelligence and machine learning, digital infrastructure and human-machine interface technologies.
The department said it will award $33M in grants: up to $9M over three years to one Regional UTC, and up to $6M over three years for each of four Tier 1 UTCs. Each UTC is a group of two- and four-year colleges and universities that have come together to form a center of transportation excellence on a specific research topic. The UTC program funds three types of centers – National UTCs with a national scope, Regional UTCs that address regional needs in addition to national priorities, and Tier 1 UTCs that focus on unique and specific areas of interest.
The money stems from 12 UTC programs that were awarded $54 million in grants that focused on sustainable transportation, such as $12 million for the University of California, Davis – National Center for Sustainable Transportation’s research on “accelerating equitable decarbonization,” $9 million for City College of New York – Center for Social and Economic Mobility for People and Communities through Transportation’s research on equitable transportation for the disadvantaged workforce,” and $6 million for New York University – Connected Communities for Smart Mobility Toward Accessible and Resilient Transportation for Equitably Reducing Congestion’s research on the impact of providing “e-bikes to low-income travelers in transit deserts.”