TRB Annual Meeting

1
FHWA Commitment and Corporate Objectives for
Advanced Research

• TRB Annual Meeting
• Tuesday, January 24, 2006
• Session 505

2
FHWA Mission

• Enhanced Mobility through Innovation,
• Leadership, and Public Service
• and Roles
• Leaders for National Mobility
• Stewards for National Highway Programs
• Innovators for a Better Future

3
Scope of FHWA Role in RT

• Conducting research
• Supporting research by
• State DOTs
• Universities
• Private industry
• Stimulating development and innovation
• Facilitating technology transfer and deployment
• Educating the transportation professional of the
  future

4
FHWA RT Focus Areas
RT in FHWA covers the entire innovation process,
including research, development, innovation
deployment, education, and training.

• Safety
• Infrastructure
• Transportation System Management and Operations
• Planning/Environment/Real Estate Services
• Policy
• Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS)

5
A Strategic Approach

• FHWA Commitment recognizes the need to focus on
  high-risk research with high payoff potential.

6
Advanced Research in Context
7

• Advanced Research defined
• Research that involves and draws upon basic
  research results to provide a better
  understanding of phenomena and develop innovative
  solutions. Sometimes referred to as exploratory
  research in order to convey its more fundamental
  character, its broader objectives, and the
  greater uncertainty in expected outcomes compared
  to problem-solving research.

8
Advanced research project leads to licensed
technology

• Southwest Research Institute developed a
  nondestructive inspection system using
  magnetostrictive sensing (MsS)
• CableScan is a commercially available service
  resulting from this study, which originated out
  of FHWAs advanced research program.

9
Authorized Funding for RTE Programs
Program FY-2005 FY-2006 FY-2007 FY-2008 FY-2009
Surface Transportation Research, Development and Deployment 196.4M (42.6M) 196.4M 196.4M 196.4M 196.4M
Training and Education 26.7M (7.2M) 26.7M 26.7M 26.7M 26.7M
Bureau of Transportation Statistics 27M (-4.5M) 27M 27M 27M 27M
University Transportation Research 69.7M (44.8M) 69.7M 69.7M 69.7M 69.7M
Intelligent Transportation Systems Research 110M (6.6M) 110M 110M 110M 110M
Total 429.8M 429.8M 429.8M 429.8M 429.8M
Note ITS Deployment receives 122 million under
SAFETEA-LU, but only in FY 2005.
10
SAFETEA-LU Funding for Exploratory Advanced
Research

• 14 Million for each of fiscal years
• 2005 - 2009

11
SAFETEA-LU Program Guidelines

• Consistent with surface transportation research
  and technology strategic plan
• Address long-term, higher-risk research with
  potentially dramatic breakthroughs
• Strive to develop public and private partnerships

12
SAFETEA-LU Research Areas

• Characterization of materials used in highway
  infrastructure.
• Assessment of the effects of transportation
  decisions on human health.
• Development of surrogate measures of safety.
• Environmental research.
• Data acquisition techniques for system condition
  and performance monitoring.
• System performance data and information
  processing.

13
Where do we go from here?
SAFETEA-LU
Think Tank Recommendations
RT Leadership Team Roadmaps
RTCC Recommendations
14
Program Delivery

• UTC Program Universities address identified
  Adv. Research focus areas
• NSF - 1.5M leveraged w/ 1.5M match (joint
  research, NSF-managed)
• - Facilitate TFHRC/University
  partnerships (principal investigator with
  lab manager)
• TRB IDEA Program for AR