Senators Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) today announced a multi-million dollar grant to the Connecticut Transportation Institute (CTI) at the University of Connecticut. CTI has been selected as a National Center of Excellence for Transportation Security, one of six charter programs to receive a combined $72 million over four years in homeland security grants. For 33 years, CTI has been a national leader on transportation issues ranging from clean fuels, to mass transit and smart growth, to the response of infrastructure to extreme events.

 “The University of Connecticut should be proud that its transportation experts have been recognized for their excellence,” said Sen. Dodd. “This homeland security funding will further their efforts to help keep millions of Americans safe from the threat of terrorism as they travel on our roads, railways, and mass transit systems. I look forward to watching their progress in the years to come.”

“The selection of the Connecticut Transportation Institute as a National Center of Excellence for Transportation Security is a tribute to the excellent work conducted at CTI and the University of Connecticut,” Lieberman said.  “The accompanying grant will transform CTI into one of the leading authorities on transportation security, which has become a critical area of study in the wake of numerous terrorist attacks against transportation systems around the globe.”

“We are extremely gratified that Senators Dodd and Lieberman were able to have UConn’s Connecticut Transportation Institute named as a National Transportation Security Center of Excellence,” said University of Connecticut President Philip E. Austin.   “This designation gives the University the opportunity to contribute to the security of our national transportation systems, and we are pleased to put our expertise in this area to work in the nation’s service.”

The Connecticut Transportation Institute operates within the University’s School of Engineering and has studied transportation issues with a wide array of high-tech methods, including computer simulation models, real-time traffic data, and video feeds from traffic management systems. Its Technology Transfer Center hosts workshops for more than 3,500 government and private-sector specialists, and it also draws on the resources of the Connecticut Global Fuel Cell Center, a pioneer in the development of innovative, distributed fuel sources.

The senators chair the two committees with an interest in transit security: Senator Dodd as Chairman of the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, which began the 110th Congress by unanimously approving a bill on transit security, and Senator Lieberman as Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, who has led efforts to pass the Improving America’s Security Act of 2007, which includes Dodd’s transit security bill.  A conference report on the bill could pass the Senate this week.

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