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Projects

The National Center for Sustainable Transportation funds a variety of research grants, organized by our three research themes (Infrastructure Provision; Travel Demand; and Vehicle Technology), and by project type (applied research projects, white papers / research synthesis, seed grants, translational projects, dissertation grants, and graduate student-led research). 

Real-Time Large-Scale Ridesharing with Flexible Meeting Points

  • Principal Investigator Maged Dessouky, Ph.D.
  • University of Southern California
This project will develop a framework that will, in real-time, match drivers to passengers and route rideshare drivers that incorporates traffic data to provide improved solutions. The resulting solution framework will use commercial traffic simulation software to achieve this goal.
Project Status
In Progress

Changing Markets for Commuter and Suburban Rail

  • Principal Investigator Kari E. Watkins, Ph.D.
  • University of California, Davis
The goal of this project is to understand barriers to potential ridership including a dearth of first- and last-mile connections, reliability of service, bicycle and pedestrian facilities near stations, cost, changes in attitudes, changes in demand for travel (induced by work from home preferences), and station level amenities including parking.
Project Status
In Progress

Deep Learning-Based Optimization of Eco-Driving Strategies with Connected and Autonomous Electric Vehicles on Transportation Networks

  • Principal Investigator Fengxiang Qiao, Ph.D.
  • Texas Southern University
This project will help both transportation and environmental agencies at all levels, and car manufacturers, to understand the design, operation, and impacts of optimal eco-driving strategies. The project will provide urgent science and test-based input to inform policy and practice development.
Project Status
In Progress

Advancing Equitable Electric Vehicle Adoption: Addressing home charging barriers and costs

  • Principal Investigator Dana Rowangould, Ph.D.
  • University of Vermont
This project evaluates the relationships between EV adoption, home charger installation, and housing characteristics as well as the costs of home charging installation for homes of different types in the City of Burlington, Vermont. The project also investigates the sociodemographic makeup of residents living in homes with greater barriers to home charging using national data.
Project Status
In Progress

Analyzing the Effectiveness of Policy and Regulatory Frameworks for Sustainable Truck Freight

  • Principal Investigator Caleb Weed
  • Georgia Institute of Technology
This study systematically reviews the policy landscape for sustainable freight transportation using text mining and natural language processing techniques and aggregates them into seven distinct policy types: prohibitions, rebates, sales mandates, technological mandates, material infrastructure, and immaterial infrastructure.
Project Status
In Progress

Smart Charging of Electric Vehicle Fleets: Modeling, Algorithm Development, and Grid Impact Analysis, with Emphasis on Fleets of Transit and Heavy-Duty Freight Vehicles

  • Principal Investigator Christian Viteri
  • Georgia Institute of Technology
In the research, smart charging will be explored in the larger context of electric vehicle fleets carrying freight and/or people to assess its potential to again decrease charging costs, increase carbon-free energy usage, decrease spatially-concentrated peak demands on the grid, and lower infrastructure investment.
Project Status
In Progress

Applying Vulnerability Assessments and Triple Bottom Line Considerations to Rail Infrastructure Management: Toward an Integrated Framework for Rail Resilience and Sustainability

  • Principal Investigator Adair Garrett
  • Georgia Institute of Technology
This research will apply climate vulnerability assessments and the TBL approach to sustainability to rail infrastructure planning and resource allocation decision making. The results will be validated by rail operators and administrators to support improved investments in rail that are resilient to extreme events, protect the natural environment, enhance economic competitiveness, and improve societal quality of life, equitably.
Project Status
In Progress

Exploring the Charging Behavior of Plug-in Electric Vehicles

  • Principal Investigator Hanif Tayarani
  • University of California, Davis
The study will utilize mathematical modeling, including artificial intelligence, to design a policy for the optimal use of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and identify charging locations for future battery electric vehicle drivers
Project Status
In Progress

"Closing-the-loop" for More Sustainable Transportation Infrastructure Materials: A framework for maximizing mineral resource usage to advance more sustainable cement-based materials

  • Principal Investigator Patrick R. Cunningham
  • University of California, Davis
This dissertation will present an evaluation framework, using material from California as a case study, to prioritize the adoption of SCM by concurrently considering (1) material performance, (2) resource availability, and (3) environmental impact reduction.
Project Status
In Progress

Learning Drivers’ Utility Functions in a Coordinated Freight Routing System Based on Drivers’ Actions

  • Principal Investigator Petros Ioannou, Ph.D.
  • University of Southern California
This project explores the probability of developing a centrally coordinated routing system for trucks. The project develops a method for estimating the utility functions of truck drivers based on their response to a centrally coordinated routing system that they are participating, and it also evaluates the impact of assumed wrong utility functions that could be viewed as non-compliance on the system optimum cost.
Project Status
In Progress

Data Dashboard and Capacity Building for Electric Carsharing in Underserved BIPOC Communities

  • Principal Investigator Caroline Rodier, Ph.D.
  • University of California, Davis
This project addresses the need to increase access to grant funds to develop electric vehicle (EV) carsharing in underserved communities, particularly in rural and suburban areas. The research team designed this translational research project to engage communities interested in developing electric carsharing programs.
Project Status
In Progress

Utilizing Concrete at its End-of-Life for Direct Air Capture

  • Principal Investigator Sabbie Miller, Ph.D.
  • University of California, Davis
The project addresses and discusses environmentally effective ways to deal with greenhouse gas, a harmful byproduct of cement production. It considers the necessity of using Direct Air Capture technology to minimize greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (reaching net-zero GHG emissions is a regulatory mandate for the State of California’s cement industry).
Project Status
In Progress

The Role of Level of Service in Post-SB 743 California

  • Principal Investigator Elisa Barbour, Ph.D.
  • University of California, Davis
This project will investigate how and whether localities are able to effectively integrate use of both level-of-service (LOS) and vehicle miles traveled (VMT), identify the best practices, and provide recommendations for Caltrans and other state agencies for assisting localities.
Project Status
In Progress

Exploring Microtransit Adoption and Impacts on Transportation Access of Underserved Populations

  • Principal Investigator Yan Xing, Ph.D.
  • University of California, Davis
This research focuses on transportation of underserved people in the Sacramento area of California and aims to explore their barriers to and facilitators of adoption of a technology-enabled on-demand service—microtransit—and how and to what extent it helps get access to services and employment by employing quantitative methods based on data collected through phone and intercept surveys.
Project Status
In Progress

Improving Access and Efficiency to Transportation Affordable Programs in California

  • Principal Investigator Caroline Rodier, Ph.D.
  • University of California, Davis
This project addresses the Caltrans research need as outlined in the 2022-2023 UC Davis Caltrans Research Grants: "Existing assistance programs often function as discretionary rather than entitlement programs. These programs are first-come, first-serve, and often over-subscribed. They tend to use limited dollars to channel large benefits to relatively few beneficiaries, leave many eligible households unassisted, and are rarely evaluated." The researchers will use a three-part approach to identify near and longer-term opportunities to provide more effective UBM programs. 
Project Status
In Progress