WASHINGTON (January 23, 2019) – The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) has awarded a $3,750,000 grant to the Howard University Transportation Research Center (HUTRC) within the College of Engineering and Architecture (CEA). During the five-year program, researchers will provide traffic studies, traffic safety improvements and crash data analysis for the District of Columbia as part of the city’s Vision Zero Initiative. 

“According to the Council of State Governments (2017), the U.S. Department of Transportation reported that over $926 billion dollars will be needed in transit related infrastructure initiatives around the country. Under the leadership of Dr. Arhin, the grant award from the DDOT allows Howard University to play an integral role in informing the allocation of these resources with research-backed best practices in Washington, D.C. for metropolitan areas across the United States,” says Bruce Jones, Ph.D., Vice President of Research. “In this respect, this grant fits squarely with Howard’s longstanding mission to provide state-of-the-art research that informs policy and practice with a chief goal to improve the quality of life of our citizenry.

Stephen Arhin, Sc.D., associate professor of civil and environmental engineering within the College of Engineering and Architecture, will oversee the project as director of the HUTRC.

“This multi-year award presents an opportunity for Howard University's Transportation Safety Research Center to continue its work of supporting DDOT to improve safety in the city and implement safety programs based on traditional engineering practices, innovation, and data analytics,” Arhin explains. 

Arhin will oversee the center’s efforts to obtain, manage and analyze traffic crash data for DDOT, in addition to conducting research on DDOT’s Connected Vehicles Initiative, which utilizes research to explore emerging methods of allowing drivers to communicate with other drivers and vehicles, along with road infrastructure and cloud technology. According to the Center for Advanced Automotive Technology, connected vehicles can be used not only to improve vehicle safety, but to improve vehicle efficiency and commute times. 

“This presents an opportunity for students to be engaged in solving real-world problems through data collection and analysis, field observations, and systems integration,” says Arhin. The center also plans to conduct traffic calming and safety studies within the DC area, in addition to developing strategies to improve the flow of several modes of local traffic.

The College of Engineering and Architecture will benefit, overall, from the award, by enhancing the student research experience through utilizing data taken during the HUTRC study. The outcome of studies and research conducted under the award will be incorporated into classes, seminars and workshops. The academic goal is to expose students to real-world engineering problems.

“Dr. Stephen Arhin’s traffic research helps us envision a future where vehicles and drivers communicate and interact on the road well beyond the visual means of today. This behind-the-scene communication promotes traffic safety and manageability in ways that would not be possible using today’s technology,” says Achille Messac, Ph.D., dean of the College of Engineering and Architecture. “DDOT has long recognized and supported the leading-edge value of Dr. Arhin’s research. Our students benefit greatly, from undergraduate to doctoral levels, as Dr. Arhin helps educate the transportation engineers of the future. According to the US Department of Transportation, the US experienced approximately 37,000 fatalities in 2017, down from approximately 51,000 in 1980. Dr. Arhin’s research with his students and collaborators is literally designed to save lives!”

The Howard University Transportation Research Center was founded in 1998 as a standing research resource assisting a variety of partners in fulfilling missions to develop sustainable travel practices, improve transportation safety and protect environmental resources in the District of Columbia. For more information, visit www.hutrc.org.  

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Photographed above: Stephen Arhin, Sc.D., associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, director of the Howard University Transportation Research Center

About Howard University

Founded in 1867, Howard University is a private, research university that is comprised of 13 schools and colleges. Students pursue studies in more than 120 areas leading to undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees. The University operates with a commitment to Excellence in Truth and Service and has produced four Rhodes Scholars, 11 Truman Scholars, two Marshall Scholars, one Schwarzman Scholar, over 70 Fulbright Scholars and 22 Pickering Fellows. Howard also produces more on-campus African-American Ph.D. recipients than any other university in the United States. For more information on Howard University, visit www.howard.edu.

Media contact: Ramzey Smith, Office of University Communications, Ramzey.smith@howard.edu