UA to Establish Transportation Center

Akron, Ohio, June 21, 2006 — The University of Akron's Board of Trustees today approved the establishment of a University of Akron Transportation Center, which was recently funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation for $500,000 annually for the next four years.

Congressional legislation passed in July 2005 authorized the transportation department to fund 22 Tier II University Transportation Centers throughout the nation. With the support of the Ohio Department of Transportation, The University of Akron sought and was selected as one of four sites in Ohio, along with Cleveland State University, the University of Toledo and Youngstown State University.

"Sustainable economic development and improved quality of life rely largely on the safe and efficient operation of the statewide transportation systems, making the work of the University Transportation Centers vital," says Dr. George Haritos, dean of the UA College of Engineering, where the new Akron center will be housed. "This is no small undertaking: Ohio maintains and operates the fifth-largest interstate roadway system in the nation. It carries the fifth-highest traffic volume among U.S. states. Ohio's transportation infrastructure contains the second-highest number of bridges and is fourth in the U.S. in total number of motor vehicles."

According to Dr. Ping Yi, UA associate professor of civil engineering and director of the project, the center will provide leadership in research and education on transportation mobility and asset management issues. Those issues include — traffic safety, system control and management, pavement and highway materials testing, and foundation stability of highway infrastructure.

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