Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) awarded $435 million in grant awards for 34 University Transportation Centers (UTC) that will help the next generation of transportation professionals make roads, bridges, rail, shipping, and airspace safer, more innovative, and more efficient. UTCs advance transportation expertise and technology in the varied disciplines that comprise the field of transportation through education, research, and technology transfer activities.

Purdue University, led by Prof. Satish Ukkusuri, will serve as a major partner in a UTC led by Clemson University funded by a $4 million/year grant with a focus on cybersecurity. This UTC will continuously monitor and address the vulnerabilities of cybersecurity associated with transportation cyber-physical-social systems (TCPSS). TCPSS uses computations and communication embedded in and interacting with physical processes to add new capabilities to transportation systems. This UTC will work on identifying challenges and threats across transportation modes, geographies, and applications; and pioneering advanced cybersecurity strategies and solutions for multimodal transportation.

Other members in the UTC consortium include Benedict College, Florida International University, Morgan State University (MD), South Carolina State University, University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa, University of California at Santa Cruz, and University of Texas at Dallas.

Source: U.S. Department of Transportation