The Mineta National Transportation Research Consortium (MNTRC), led by the Mineta Transportation Institute at San José State University (SJSU), was awarded $7 million in federal funding through the University Transportation Centers (UTC) Program for transportation research, education, workforce development, and technology transfer activities. Matching funds from regional and state partners, including the California Department of Transportation, bring the grant five-year total to $10.5 million.

In addition to SJSU, the Consortium brings together a diverse set of university partners including Howard University, Navajo Technical University, and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte which will focus on improving the mobility of people and goods to ensure that our nation’s transportation system is fast, safe, efficient, accessible, and convenient for all.

MNTRC plans for the money include research on leveraging new technologies and innovative processes to achieve a seamless, multimodal surface transportation system; reducing the impact of transportation on climate change; and optimizing passenger and freight movements to improve mobility.

“It would be difficult to overstate the contribution that the Mineta Transportation Institute has made to advancing our understanding of the far-reaching potential of mobility to effect change in people’s lives,” said Norman Y. Mineta, the former U.S. Secretary of Transportation.

MTI Executive Director, Karen Philbrick, said that the grant upholds the tremendous contributions MTI and the consortium partners have made to the nation’s transportation system over the past 25 years. The U.S. Department of Transportation received 212 applications as part of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act competition. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx, in his announcement of the winners, said, “Our nation faces unprecedented challenges from population growth, a changing climate, and increasing freight volumes. Universities are at the forefront of identifying solutions, researching critical emerging issues, and ensuring improved access to opportunity for all Americans.”

The Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI) conducts research, education, and information transfer programs regarding surface transportation policy and management issues. Congress established MTI in 1991 as part of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act. The institute is funded through the U.S. Department of Transportation, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the California Department of Transportation, and public and private grants.