Tennessee Vans is a financially sustainable social business enterprise under the UT Center for Transportation Research that provides vehicles (15 Passenger, Minivan, Crossover, & Sedan) to nonprofit organizations. As a social business enterprise, Tennessee Vans addresses problems of human mobility, specifically the needs of the transportation disadvantaged. We have been in existence since 1990 as a vehicle provision […]
Vladyslav Panchenko’s students at Ukrainian State University of Railway Transport can’t attend in school in person because of the ongoing war with Russia. For a period of time, they weren’t allowed to leave the country for educational opportunities because of a travel ban. That is what made Panchenko’s recent visit to the University of Tennessee […]
The U.S. National Science Foundation Regional Innovation Engines (NSF Engines) program announced that 71 teams spanning nearly every state and territory in the nation are advancing to the next stage of the second-ever competition. The program is charting a new frontier for American innovation pursuant to the bipartisan “CHIPS and Science Act of 2022.” The […]
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, supply chain management faculty recently underscored its leadership in the transportation sector by helping to organize the Airport Ground Transportation Association (AGTA) Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, from Sept. 29 to Oct. 2, 2024. Clinical assistant professor Jeff Trombly, a founding member of the Global Supply Chain Institute’s Transportation and Logistics […]
The major selling point of electric vehicles has been their ability to reduce emissions while saving money through lower fuel costs. A potential impediment to this eco-friendly model of transportation is the shelf life of its power source. EV batteries can no longer be used to drive electric vehicles when their charge capacity declines to […]
The Tickle College of Engineering continues to rank among the top third of colleges across the nation, according to the US News & World Report’s Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs released on Tuesday. TCE ranks 37th among public colleges, sixth among Southeastern Conference institutions and 66th overall among all colleges. Additionally, the computer science program within […]
Robotic vehicles can optimize the flow of traffic in cities even when mixed in with vehicles driven by humans, thereby improving traffic efficiency, safety and energy consumption, my colleagues and I found. Robot vehicles are no longer a sci-fi concept: Cities around the world have been testing autonomous robotaxis since 2016. With the increasing presence of robot vehicles in […]
The Institute for Future Mobility (FMI) has hired researchers to fill four of six cluster positions. The four researchers will form a collaborative community cluster led by Professor Kevin Heaslip, the Center for Transportation Research Director. Professor Heaslip: “These new hires will complement the faculty who are already part of the University of Tennessee Knoxville […]
Engineering groups from the University of Tennessee received two of the seven grants awarded by the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (TNECD) through the Transportation Network Growth Opportunity (TNGO) initiative. The Center for Transportation Research’s project, Building Platform for Development of Automotive Cybersecurity Testing received a $500,000 grant. The University of Tennessee Space […]
At our second Cocke County High School event of the year, WBIR filmed our program in action, and aired the story on August 22nd. During the event, the WBIR reporter interviewed a student, who shared the following after riding our seatbelt convincer: “It’s definitely important to wear your seatbelt, a lot more important than most […]
Summertime is when drivers hit the roads in droves. Families and friends are ticking off destinations from their bucket lists. The National Highway Safety Administration offers summer driving safety tips to keep travelers focused for long and short trips. One caution to be aware of is distracted driving.Distracted driving is estimated to occur every 31 […]
In May of 2024, Carol Hatmaker officially retired from CTR. Carol has graciously agreed to work part-time during the next several months to aid new Business Manager Tammy Johnson with the transition. Those who have worked with Carol during her 23-year career with CTR have seen the contributions and sacrifices that Carol has made over […]
Six CTR staff members completed their undergraduate and Ph.D. programs in the second quarter of 2024. Sarah La Fetra, Joseph Dunbar, Sophia Jodoin, and Elizabeth Duty graduated this spring! All four will continue their work at CTR this summer before moving on. Sarah hopes to get a permanent position in her field Joe will attend […]
Three Mid-Roof 15-passenger Transits and a Chevy Equinox were delivered through the TN Vans Program. The Chevy Equinox went to the TN Children’s Home location in Knoxville and will allow staff to travel to their other TN Children’s Home locations across the state. One Mid-Roof Transit was delivered to TN Be Trew in Memphis. Be […]
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, remains a top school for graduate engineering programs, according to U.S. News & World Report’s Best Graduate Schools 2024 rankings, released June 18. U.S. News published a partial list of graduate school rankings on April 9 that included high rankings for UT in business, law, nursing and social work. The 2024 Best Engineering […]
TTAP is excited to announce that it will offer the Road Safety Champion Program (RSCP). Starting in July 2024, maintenance, construction, planning, and engineering professionals can embark on this journey from the comfort of their homes or offices. TTAP Director Matt Cate explains, “The Road Safety Champion Program will allow transportation professionals to do much […]
The Tennessee Transportation Assistance Program (TTAP) offers training courses and workshops to engineers, planners, designers, technicians, and other transportationpersonnel. While all the courses and workshops offered by TTAP are valuable resources for personal and professional development, a select few of these opportunities can lead to the Tennessee Academy of Transportation Engineering (TATE) certification. This certification, […]
Transportation electrification is Tennessee’s future. Major automotive manufacturers are pivoting toward electric vehicles (EVs), battery suppliers are opening or ramping up operations in the Southeast — now seen as the nation’s “battery belt” — and Tennesseans are benefitting from high-paying green jobs. Put simply, electrification offers endless opportunities for economic and community development in our […]
As you drive to the beach this summer, you may find yourself playing road trip games based on the license plates around you. How many states’ plates do you see? How many different animals can you find? Can you find a plate in every color of the rainbow? Can you write an algorithm that recognizes, […]
Sazzadul Saykat and Caleb Napper each grab a side of the large mixing bowl filled with concrete and carry it across the lab floor to pour into a funnel. As the concrete mix gradually seeps into the center of a circle drawn on the ground, the graduate students measure the rate of the flow and […]
CGTN’s Asieh Namdar speaks to Kevin Heaslip, Director of the Center for Transportation Research, about the ship losing power and issuing a mayday before crash. Watch the video here
The 2024 TRB Annual Meeting took place from January 7–11. Transportation administrators, practitioners, policy makers, and researchers all came to DC to participate in more than 600 workshops, lectern sessions, committee sessions, and poster sessions. There were also more than 200 exhibitors who joined in on the event. The following UT CEE faculty and students […]
Following the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore, Kevin Heaslip, director for the Center for Transportation Research, spoke with NBC News’ Joe Fryer about why the bridge collapsed and how the cargo ship brought down the massive structure. Watch the video here
In February of 2022, as the country was still recovering from the supply chain shocks of the Covid-19 pandemic, California Governor Gavin Newsom appointed Toks Omishakin as the state’s fourth Secretary of Transportation. That May, Omishakin helped strike down a decades-old plan to widen the 710 Freeway, one of the country’s busiest freight corridors—and defended […]
Kevin Bai, associate professor in the Min H. Kao Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS), shares a principle-investigator role in a collaboration with the ABB Group’s US Research Center to develop an integrated, compact drive inverter and motor for electric vehicles that would reduce both the size and cost of electric drive trains. Bai’s proposed […]
Alberta wants EV owners to pull their own weight when it comes to paying for road maintenance – but battery-electric passenger vehicles, while considerably heavier than their gas-powered counterparts, are far from the heaviest vehicles on the road, experts said. “For pavement, the biggest cause of damage is large transport trucks,” Kevin Heaslip, director of […]
E-bikes have captured widespread attention across the U.S., and for good reason. They are the most energy-efficient way to move from place to place, providing exercise in the process, and offer enough assistance while pedaling uphill or into headwinds to make them usable for many types of riders. Greenhouse gas emissions from e-bikes are much […]
A new study has highlighted a concerning safety issue. As the vehicles on the roadways in the United States have gotten heavier, the guardrails are not functioning as well when there is a crash. NBC News’ Kathy Park has more on what researchers found. Watch the video here.
Day one of the event is in the books after presentations and “asks” from several speakers. Now, the hard work begins. Deb Crawford clearly outlined the opportunities and challenges that a group of more than 100 partners is trying to address under the auspices of the TEAM TN umbrella. Speaking Tuesday morning at the start […]
UT graduate students Ashley Hightower and Grace Whitehouse both received prestigious Eisenhower fellowship grants to help fund their research in the transportation field. Hightower received the maximum amount awarded. Read the full article here
Tennessee currently supports 40 percent of the EV manufacturing jobs and investments in the southeast, but ranks 41st in the country for industrial R&D. As transportation evolves, and the focus on car travel shifts from the combustion engine to the electric battery, Tennessee is already a key player in the world of manufacturing. Ford, GM, […]
Tennessee is poised to become the next great hub of American innovation. Home to one of the most prominent national labs, multiple top-tier research universities, a growing workforce and enviable geography, the Volunteer State is positioned to drive innovation that will change the world. At the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, we are ready to help […]
Traffic is a nightmare no matter where you go and now Tennessee lawmakers want to help alleviate some of the stress that comes with commuting. A bill called the Transportation Modernization Act passed the state senate and is now headed to the House. The bill includes “choice lanes” which are lanes designed to reduce traffic […]
Electric vehicles, now the choice for the environmentally minded, could be become the standard for everyone if Tennessee succeeds in an ambitious goal to engineer fast-charging alternatives to fossil fuel-burning vehicles that spew 27% of America’s greenhouse gases. The University of Tennessee at Knoxville is at the helm of a statewide coalition leveraging expertise in […]
Can you give us an overview of what you and the RIA are doing here at Railtex?At the practical level, the Railway Industry Association (RIA) is at Railtex for the future focus conference and the innovation village. At the strategic level, we’re here to support our members who are exhibiting to raise the profile of […]
Batteries make EVs heavier than gas-powered vehiclesCivil and environmental engineering professor Kevin Heaslip, director of the University of Tennessee’s Center for Transportation Research, said EVs often weigh 30% more than gas-powered vehicles. The main reason is the weight of their batteries, which can add hundreds of pounds or more. Experts said EVs’ additional weight has […]
For Nashvillians who don’t have a car or don’t want to drive to an event, rideshare apps like Uber and Lyft are popular options. But just a decade ago, these options didn’t exist. Taxis were the best option back then, and are still around. But one of these systems is regulated by the city, and […]
Federal investigators renewed their recommendation that major freight railroads equip every locomotive with the kind of autonomous sensors that could have caught the track flaws that caused a fatal 2021 Amtrak derailment in northern Montana. But installing the sensors on the tens of thousands of locomotives in the fleet could be cost prohibitive, and it’s […]
Twelve days after a portion of Interstate 95 collapsed in north Philadelphia during a truck fire, officials opened a temporary six-lane roadway to serve motorists while a permanent overpass is rebuilt. This was a major success after the June 11, 2023, disaster was predicted to snarl traffic for months. U.S. cities often face similar challenges […]
Knox County, home to some of the most congested roads in Tennessee, has traffic and infrastructure issues that will take a generation to solve. “You can choose any high schooler, and they would be a senior citizen by the time we address just the current projects on the list,” said state Sen. Becky Duncan Massey, […]
“I think the state of Tennessee has been really proactive in the promotion of electric vehicles and one of the reasons for that is, first of all, I think our ecosystem between UT and Oak Ridge National Lab that we have here in East Tennessee,” said Kevin Heaslip, the director of the Center for Transportation […]
Longer-lasting batteries and lighter-weight vehicles. Wireless charging stations and sustainable materials. More efficient supply chains and more effective public policy. UT researchers are at the forefront of the technology and societal forces that are revolutionizing transportation here in the United States and around the world. By bringing together the university’s deep bench of expertise, the […]
Stanford University’s annual list of the top 2% of scientists cited by other researchers around the world was recently released, and this year’s version includes 183 faculty members from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, including the UT Institute of Agriculture. The database includes almost 205,000 scientists, engineers and mathematicians worldwide whose work has been most […]
The U.S. Department of Transportation (US DOT) has announced that the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, will lead a multi-institutional University Transportation Center (UTC) designed to improve the mobility of people and goods across the country.
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, is committing $50 million over the next five years to recruit 44 top-tier research faculty members across multiple disciplines to address some of the most pressing and complex challenges of our time. It is the largest faculty hiring initiative in recent UT history.
