Pedestrian safety in Chattanooga is set to advance significantly thanks to a $2 million Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation. Earlier this month, officials from the City of Chattanooga and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga were notified that they are among the 34 recipients of a SMART “Planning and Prototyping Grant” from a pool of 321 applicants nationwide.
Wheels on the bus: Multidisciplinary UTC sociologist seeking a broader understanding of transportation accessibility
Without reliable transportation, some low-income people are isolated, socially excluded and forced to adapt by making a choice that further perpetuates their isolation: “I just don’t go nowhere.” Dr. Chandra Ward reports this finding in her paper, “How transportation disadvantage reinforces social exclusion,” published in the June 2023 Journal of Transport Geography.
UTC, NSF, Amazon Web Services, ITS America join in spurring smart transportation innovation
At this month’s annual meeting of the Transportation Research Board (TRB), part of the National Academies of Sciences, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga was a sponsor of a research data challenge drawing competitors from across the country.
Change of leadership in Office of Research and Graduate School
Dr. Joanne Romagni, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Vice Chancellor for Research and dean of the Graduate School, has decided to leave that position and return to the faculty as a professor in the Department of Biology, Geology and Environmental Science. This change will be effective Jan. 1, 2024, and Deputy Vice Chancellor Reinhold Mann will serve as UTC Vice Chancellor for Research for a period of two years starting Jan. 1.
Sartipi honored for advanced energy leadership
Dr. Mina Sartipi was the recipient of the 2023 “Thomas B. Ballard Advanced Energy Leadership Award” presented by the Tennessee Advanced Energy Business Council.
Federal grant to fund added insight for Chattanooga’s Smart Corridor
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has awarded $1.1 million for research to enhance detection of “vulnerable road users” within the Smart City Corridor overseen by the Center for Urban Informatics and Progress (CUIP) at UTC. In addition to the funding awarded through the FHWA “Exploratory Advance Research” program, UTC and research partners will invest $300,000 to enable additional technology along the M.L. King Boulevard site to detect “vulnerable road users”—essentially, anyone not traveling inside an enclosed vehicle.
Dr. Chandra Ward named CUIP director of community engagement
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Assistant Professor of Sociology Chandra Ward has taken on the added role of director of community engagement for the University’s Center for Urban Informatics and Progress (CUIP).
CUIP and CO.LAB to partner in sustainable mobility research
A memorandum of understanding between UTC and CO.LAB provides students and scientists with the University’s Center for Urban Informatics and Progress (CUIP) with unprecedented opportunities to apply today’s knowledge in Smart City research to find solutions to society-scale challenges.
Largest federal DOT grant in UTC history to make downtown Chattanooga an electric vehicle testbed
The winning Chattanooga proposal is for a networked system that will enable electric vehicle drivers to more readily locate charging stations. Charging opportunities will be customized for drivers as a result of the system recognizing the charge level of individual electric vehicles, volume and pace of traffic and electric grid power demand to recommend charging stations and types by locations.
Teams research ways to make intersections safer for the disabled
Statistics show pedestrian wheelchair users are 36% more likely to be killed in a road accident than the general public.