U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590
202-366-4000
Federal Highway Administration Research and Technology
Exploratory Advanced Research Program
Legislation established an Exploratory Advanced Research (EAR) Program that addresses the need to conduct research on longer term and higher risk breakthrough research with the potential for transformational improvements to plan, build, renew, and operate safe, congestion free, and environmentally sound transportation systems.
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) engages stakeholders in the EAR Program--from evaluating potential research topics through communicating research results.
FHWA identifies and scopes topics through extensive initial-stage investigation. The EAR Program has supported scanning trips and meetings involving national and international experts to assure use of the most recent advances in science and engineering.
FHWA uses expert panels to ensure the technical quality of sponsored research. The panels are composed of Federal, State, academic, and international scientific and engineering experts, who are vetted to avoid conflicts of interest. The panels frequently include members from multiple disciplines to assure that cross applications and novel approaches to research are fully assessed.
FHWA understands that EAR Program-funded projects are part of a larger research and development cycle designed to move from basic research through applied research, field testing, pilot deployment, and adoption. FHWA is committed to transitioning the results of EAR Program-funded research projects and takes an active role in demonstrating results to audiences critical to continuing the research and development cycle.
Infravation is infrastructure plus innovation. The Infravation Program is the first cooperative research initiative between FHWA and other national road administrations developed from the ground up, which allows U.S. entities such as academic institutions, state departments of transportation, and businesses to participate in the research along with entities from other countries. Infravation is an important complement to FHWA’s national research agenda, including its Exploratory Advanced Research (EAR) Program. It will accelerate the consideration and development of innovations, especially in the areas of advanced systems, and materials and techniques for road infrastructure. [More:]
The Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center (TFHRC) conducts research across a wide range of topics and disciplines. To supplement the expertise of the permanent staff, it is important to bring in researchers with the appropriate backgrounds to investigate specific problems at short-term basis. Through the Exploratory Advanced Research (EAR) Program, FHWA utilizes the Resident Associates (or Postdoctoral Fellows) program of the National Research Council (NRC) for this purpose. The NRC provides a process for selecting candidates on a competitive merit basis and subsequently for administration of the Resident Fellows during their tenures at FHWA. [More]