By Peter Murphy
Published July 12, 2022
The Stephen Still Institute of Sustainable Transportation and Logistics (ISTL) has renewed its membership to remain part of the Council of University Transportation Centers (CUTC) as it competes to become a University Transportation Center (UTC).
According to CUTC, its membership “consists of over 80 of the nation’s leading university-based transportation centers. Collectively, CUTC members have advanced the state-of-the-art in all modes and disciplines of transportation.”
ISTL has been a member of the organization since 2013 and has taken advantage of several benefits. CUTC holds two meetings per year and advocate on behalf of its university members to continue the federal funding of the UTC program in every new highway bill. CUTC also distributes annual awards for the best PhD and MS degrees throughout the United States. UB hosted CUTC’s annual summer meeting in 2017.
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), “each UTC is a consortium of two- and four-year colleges and universities that come together to form a unique center of transportation excellence on a specific research topic.”
DOT invests in the UTC program to advance state-of-the-art transportation research and technology and develop the next generation of transportation professionals. According to Adel Sadek, founding director of ISTL and professor in the department of civil, structural and environmental engineering, membership in CUTC is critical for universities interested in becoming part of a UTC.
“With us competing for a UTC this round, I think it would be beneficial to continue our membership in CUTC,” Sadek says. “I am hoping the new faculty joining us could continue to play an active role in CUTC, which will serve to raise awareness of our programs on the national level.”
