The Midwest Transportation Consortium
is one of 10 competitively awarded Tier 1 University Transportation Centers sponsored by the Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) of the U.S. DOT

About the Midwest Transportation Consortium

The Midwest Transportation Consortium is one of 10 competitively awarded Tier 1 University Transportation Centers sponsored by the Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) of the U.S. DOT. The consortium is a partnership among Iowa State University (ISU), the University of Iowa, and the University of Northern Iowa, with ISU acting as lead institution.

Iowa State University, through its Institute for Transportation (formerly the Center for Transportation Research and Education), the University of Iowa, and the University of Northern Iowa created a consortium and became a Tier I center in October 2007. Through the consortium we hope to continue to strengthen our intrastate alliance and offer transportation resources for the entire Midwest and the nation. See past annual reports.

Theme

"Addressing Transportation Safety through Improvements in Management Information Systems," specifically, traffic safety and human factors. We will focus on a narrow theme in hopes that a concentrated effort can significantly improve traffic safety.

Goals

Within the theme area of transportation safety: build expertise, develop a national reputation, increase the number and diversity of professionals, and become a regional and national resource. Specifically:

Research

Develop a body of research in the theme area performed by researchers at the three partner universities in a variety of disciplines.

Education

Establish Transportation Scholars Program at all member institutions, based on the successful program at ISU. Have 25 students participate annually in multidisciplinary curriculum, "learning community" activities, research assistantships, seminars, and two conferences.

Outreach

  • Provide project-level reports, manuals, software, and other research projects.
  • Provide program-level, regional/national workshops, conferences, and seminars.
  • Establish excellent online research and outreach materials related to the Tier 1 Center theme.