Technology Transfer

Broadly defined, the overall goal of our Technology Transfer program is to bring state of the art technologies and methodologies that are related to our theme to practicing transportation professionals in Region VII and the nation. Both educational and research program activities form part of our overall technology transfer initiative.

In fact, by definition, every activity of our research and educational programs has an element of technology transfer. From an education perspective, the student/professor relationships are technology transfer activities -- knowledge exchanged between professor and students in classroom and research endeavors. From a research perspective, technology transfer outcomes are typically associated with the delivery of research products (papers, lectures, presentations, reports, video/media) -- for individual research projects -- to potential and interested users and colleagues. Our researchers and lecturers are closely networked into the regional and national transportation communities, which further facilitates freely flowing information from/to the Center to/from the transportation industry.

Below is a small portion of the technology transfer initiatives being undertaken during MATC's grant period:

• Safety and Risk Minimization

MATC strives to develop technology transfer activities concerning the surface transportation system. A number of specialized seminars and short courses offered in all four of the states that comprise Region VII are to be utilized -- all placing special emphasis on the effect of greater freight movement.

• Disseminating Transportation Research Results

All of the MATC consortium universities will employ a comprehensive process to release reserarch results in a variety of formats, including news releases, print and electronic mediums, and public service announcements hightlighting transportation faculty member's research successes and accomplishments.

• Interactive Website

MATC has developed an interactive and intuitive website to enable rapid, continual information dissemination about research activities, publications, and seminars. The website gives all constituents instant access to the center, and helps to further inform the transportation community about MATC's reports and research efforts.

• ITS Heartland Annual Conference

We've created an annual conference for practicing professionals, transportation agency officials, private sector operators, and university faculty and students that emphasizes the Region VII UTC's theme. It is not, however, simply a forum for presenting research results -- but rather a forum where the latest state-of-the-art techniques in improving safety and reducing risk are presented and/or demonstrated. Find out more about this conference at the ITS Heartland website.

• Coordination Enhancement

Through the use of consistent communication and semi-annual meetings, Region VII technology transfer leaders have been able to coordinate activities related to the UTC thematic area of safety and risk. The goal is to ensure that there is no duplication and to provide a cooperative environment in which greater efficiency can be achieved.