Washington, DC –Today, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA), U.S. Representative Mike Doyle (D-PA14) and Representative Chaka Fattah (D-PA2) announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has awarded Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pennsylvania a grant of $5.65 million over two years for transportation technology research and development.
"I'm pleased that the Department of Transportation has awarded this grant to two of the nation's most innovative universities," said Senator Casey. "The research that CMU and Penn undertake will help tackle the nation’s transportation problems by finding ways to improve safety, upgrade infrastructure and ensure that the best new technologies come from American companies.”
"I applaud the Department of Transportation’s decision to award this grant to Carnegie Mellon and the University of Pennsylvania," said Senator Toomey. "CMU and Penn are leaders in higher education and both boast top flight research departments. I have no doubt that CMU and Penn will use these funds to identify innovative approaches that will improve transportation safety and upgrade existing infrastructure which will benefit Pennsylvania and the entire country.”
"It's strong proof of the outstanding work that Carnegie Mellon and Penn are doing in the field of transportation that their proposal was one of only five programs nationwide selected for funding in this very competitive process," Congressman Doyle said. "The research these universities are doing has tremendous potential to improve traffic safety, efficiency, and comfort."
“I am proud to see this project recognized by the Department of Transportation,” said Congressman Fattah. “The initiative between Penn and CMU represents a unique collaboration that engages academia with public and private sector partners to advance transportation technology in new, exciting ways. This grant will allow them to continue making extraordinary strides towards ensuring America is a leader in the transportation sector.”
The CMU-Penn University Transportation Center, known as “Technologies for Safe and Efficient Transportation (T-SET), develops and implements cutting edge new technologies for improving the safety and efficiency of transportation. This University Transportation Center Award follows two previous grants totaling $6.9 million to the center that Senator Casey announced in 2012. The current award is one of only five nationally and, like the previous award, was determined through a highly competitive process. This federal funding is leveraged by local foundations led by the Hillman Foundation and research funding from General Motors and PennDOT.
The CMU - Penn partnership not only advances transportation safety but improves the quality and efficiency of our roadways and saves travel time, which in turn reduces cost to the government and the traveling public. It also improves travelers’ experience by providing real time information across multiple transportation modes. The two universities also have engaged over 40 public, private and non-profit partners who are critical in deploying the federally funded research technologies through pilot projects and commercialization. In addition, this consortium contributes to the development of “real-world” education and workforce training programs at CMU and Penn to prepare students and workers for tomorrow’s transportation infrastructure and policy challenges.
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