Through the Rearview Mirror: UMD's Top Transportation Stories of 2016

CEE transportation researchers tackle critical topics at the 95th TRB Annual Meeting

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) faculty and student researchers weighed in on topics of critical importance at the National Academy of Science’s Transportation Research Board 95th Annual Meeting in January. University of Maryland participants chaired numerous committee and subcommittee meetings and gave dozens of presentations and workshops.

Additionally, the National Transportation Center (NTC@Maryland) and the Center for Advanced Transportation Technology (CATT) at the University of Maryland organized a special networking reception on Jan. 11, drawing nearly 400 transportation researchers and industry representatives. The two transportation centers also exhibited their latest technology innovations for congestion mitigation, traffic safety, and infrastructure sustainability. Read more.

City of Baltimore partners with University of Maryland for the USDOT Smart City Challenge

Dr. Lei Zhang and CEE transportation experts provided primary assistance to the City of Baltimore in its submission of the B’Smart proposal for the U.S. Department of Transportation’s “Beyond Traffic” Smart City Challenge competition.

NTC@Maryland led the technical proposal effort that included contributions from several additional University of Maryland units, including CATT, the National Center for Smart Growth, Maryland Cybersecurity Center, and Energy Research Center. In total, 52 public-sector, private-sector, and nonprofit partners supported the B’Smart proposal. Read more.

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx headlines University of Maryland Transportation Innovation and Policy Summit

Nearly 200 transportation thought leaders from government, industry and academe joined forces in April for NTC@Maryland's Transportation Innovation and Policy Summit in support of the theme: Innovative Multimodal Solutions for Reducing Congestion.

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx, Maryland Secretary of Transportation Pet Rahn, Maryland State Highway Administrator Gregory Johnson and FHWA Office of Transportation Management Director Rober Aronold were among the featured keynote speakers. They were joined by NTC@Maryland and peer university transportation center representatives, as well as experts from CATT, the National Center for Smart Growth, and the private sector. Read more.

UMD transportation experts issue impact reports, forecasts for Metro SafeTrack

As D.C.-area commuters experience Metrorail single-tracking and station closures, NTC@Maryland and CATT Lab experts are using transportation modeling and simulation technologies to enable commuters to make informed decisions while the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) SafeTrack plan is in effect.

The first of more than a dozen impact reports and forecasts slated for release throughout the accelerated track work plan for the Metrorail system was released in June. The insights captured in these reports garnered extensive media coverage in the Washington Post and other outlets in the months that followed. Read more.

The University of Maryland was awarded a competitive grant from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) to develop technology that can deliver personalized, real-time information to travelers to encourage energy-efficient travel. The funding includes $3.78 million from DOE and $700,000 in cash cost-sharing from various public and private sector partners.

The technology will deploy personalized, real-time monetary and non-monetary incentives to nudge travel behavior shifts that optimize energy efficiency in the Washington, D.C.-Baltimore region. UMD researchers will also conduct behavioral studies to estimate and predict travelers’ responses to incentives and identify effective ways to encourage drivers to alter routes, departure times and driving styles or to take mass transit or ride-sharing services. Read more.

NTC@Maryland researchers are paving the way for a sustainable and timely travel monitoring program that places unprecedented emphasis on multimodal travel trends—such as ride-sharing, bicycling and pedestrian travel. This new project is supported by a research grant from the Federal Highway Administration through a national competition.

While travel trend data are usually updated every 5-10 years, the UMD-led research team will develop innovative yet practice-ready big data and data analytics methods for estimating monthly multimodal travel statistics, such as number of trips, trip frequency and mode splits at the metropolitan level. The method will first be applied to Washington, D.C., Seattle and New York before being standardized for applications in other U.S. metropolitan areas. Read more.

The Center for Advanced Transportation Technology Lab (CATT Lab) will play a vital role in a new Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) proposal to designate I-95 and other major roadways in the Baltimore area an autonomous vehicle proving ground. If chosen by federal officials, the Automated Vehicle Research and Production Corridor would enable the development, testing, and implementation of autonomous vehicle technology under real-world conditions.

CATT Lab data and analytical applications will be used to support data sharing and performance metrics for autonomous vehicle testing. Archived data will also help researchers and developers understand the implications of connected and autonomous technologies during testing. Additional UMD-led organizations, including the National Transportation Center at Maryland and the Maryland Cybersecurity Center, will also play important roles in fulfilling the goals of the proving ground. Read more.