University of Vermont

The University of Vermont's Transportation Research Center (UVM TRC) was established in 2006 with a national grant from the U.S. DOT under SAFETEA-LU. The grant created unique infrastructure and programs at UVM TRC by attracting diverse faculty, staff, and students from across the university to pool their expertise in the study of transportation in new ways that offer value to the Green Mountain State of Vermont and beyond. UVM TRC has grown into a progressive, interdisciplinary, research center that is focused on sustainable transportation systems to support livable communities. The center's unconventional approach to research has allowed it to develop partnerships across disciplines including UVM's schools of business, engineering, natural resources, medicine, agriculture and life sciences, arts and sciences, as well as with external public and private sector partners in Vermont and beyond. Through the new Certificate of Graduate Study in Sustainable Transportation Systems and Planning, students take innovative courses in transportation while completing their degrees at their home college. These students from diverse backgrounds have generated extensive original data and unique research results on accessibility and travel in northern nonurban communities, making contributions to a growing body of research in sustainable transportation.

The UVM TRC developed a suite of workforce development programs focused on opening access to career pathways in transportation to future labor pools. The TRC partners with other institutions on workforce development throughout New England, and has been part of a national leadership initiative in this field. UVM's state-of-the-art Transportation Air Quality Lab (TAQLab) includes on-road data collection, but it also uses lab-based equipment to study biofuel emissions. TAQLab focuses on collecting real-world, on-board, and lab-based tail pipe emission performance data, which is being used in the new generation of mobile source emissions models. Using the UTC grant, the TRC launched cooperative research programs such as a travel data partnership with Vermont DOT and the Vermont Clean Cities Coalition.

Photo: Courtesy of Local Motion, Burlington, Vermont, http://www.localmotion.org