ANN ARBOR—The University of Michigan, led by the U-M Transportation Research Institute, has won a $6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to establish a University Transportation Center.

The center will support basic and applied research programs to improve safety and mobility for young people and older adults, with a strong emphasis on advanced research. Expected accomplishments over the three-year grant period include providing matching support for research projects that attract students into the transportation field.

” Both young people and older adults present unique safety and mobility challenges,” said UTC Director David Eby, research associate professor at the U-M Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI). ” The U-M’s UTC will examine the risks related to these two ends of the age spectrum, across the dimensions of the roadway, vehicle and driver.

” We’ll focus on understanding the changing perceptual, cognitive and psychomotor abilities of older drivers, the transportation needs of young people and older adults, and the elevated crash risk of young drivers.”

The U.S. DOT’s University Transportation Centers are internationally recognized centers of excellence, fully integrated within institutions of higher learning. They serve as a vital source of leaders who are prepared to meet the nation’s need for safe, efficient and environmentally sound movement of people and goods.

” This is a phenomenal opportunity to partner with the U.S. Department of Transportation and to involve more of the unique strengths of the University of Michigan schools and colleges in highway safety research,” said UMTRI Director Peter Sweatman. ” The UTC vision meshes perfectly with UMTRI’s mission. We look forward to building this program collaboratively with expert faculty at the university.”

Sweatman will chair a UTC advisory board of executive stakeholders from the auto industry, other businesses, government agencies and community groups. A core group of U-M faculty will teach courses and collaborate on research, and UMTRI staff members will administer the grant.

An executive committee comprised of UMTRI researchers and U-M faculty from across campus will provide guidance on UTC activities. The project is funded through the Office of Innovation, Research, and Education, a division of the Research and Special Programs Administration of the U.S. DOT.