USDOT Site Visit
On Thursday, November 2nd, 2017, C2SMART Center hosted the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Research and Technology (OST-R) office’s University Transportation Centers (UTC) staff at the New York University (NYU) Tandon School of Engineering’s Brooklyn campus. OST-R’s was able to meet the center’s leadership team from NYU and it’s collaborating institutions to get a first-hand look at the center’s progress in accelerating transportation research and implementation with new technologies and solutions.
NYU Tandon Dean Sreenivasan opening the visit
Dean Katepalli R. Sreenivasan first highlighted the NYU institutional support for C2SMART center remarking how the C2SMART center is a match for the overall strategies and goals of the school adding that “NYU is well positioned to accommodate the growing field and managing space for the new center.” Professor Fletcher Griffis, who spoke on behalf of Civil and Urban Engineering Department Chair Magued Iskander, also spoke to the background of the Civil Engineering and transportation programs and how they are supporting the center.
Director Ozbay addressing the attendees
Professor Kaan Ozbay, director of C2SMART, provided an overview of the centers administrative structure and the thrust areas of C2SMART, pointing out that 9 of 12 USDOT vision elements are covered. Shri Iyer, Associate Director at C2SMART, discussed the center’s outreach efforts and collaborative projects with state and local agencies providing funding on top of the federal grant money. Professor Joe Chow, deputy director of C2SMART, spoke to the future plans of the center to function as a physical and virtual testbed in New York City.
USDOT OST-R staff addressing the research team
Caesar Singh and Amy Stearns, USDOT OST-R UTC Director and grant manager, discussed the requirements of the grant and key expectations and opportunities. The center’s staff was joined by support personnel from NYU’s OSP and SPA offices.
Leads from each of NYU’s institutional partners in the center, Rutgers, City College of NY, University of Washington, and University of Texas-El Paso then spoke about their involvement and commitment to the center. Rhonda Brooks from Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) joined to present agency initiatives and collaboration initiatives in various projects between the center and WSDOT.
Prof. Jack Bringardener introducing VIP program
Several presentations from C2SMART’s principal investigators were featured in the afternoon. Discussions and presentations revolved around a variety of topics, such as connected and smart and connected neighborhoods in New York City, autonomous vehicle based traffic control, mobile navigation for mobility of seniors, LiDAR data, new algorithms to rebalance car sharing, the HUMAN Project, sustainability of urban consumption practices, and the center-sponsored Emerging Leaders in Transportation program. The visit concluded with a discussion of education initiatives such as the Vertically integrated projects (VIP) program, and a tour of NYU’s MakerSpace for student work and collaboration.
“I believe C2SMART will become a center of excellence for transportation research and education if we continue to move forward with the same team spirit and enthusiasm,” said Dr. Ozbay. “We are looking forward to working with all our consortium members, NYU colleagues, and State and City partners in the next four years and beyond.”
