Smart Mobility Connection featuring Swarun Kumar

September 29, 2023
Posted in What's Happening

September 29, 2023

Today’s Smart Mobility Connection session featured Safety21/Mobility21 UTC researcher Swarun Kumar.  He discussed his UTC work, “Next Generation Radars: Toward Smart Vehicles That See What the Eye Can’t See.”  Watch the recording here.

Traffic21 Executive Director Moves to Federal Service

September 29, 2023
Posted in What's Happening

September 1, 2023

Congratulations to former Traffic21 Executive Director Stan Caldwell, who has transitioned into Director of the U.S. Department of Transportation SMART Grants Program.  The Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) Grants Program funds purpose-driven innovation to build data and technology capacity and expertise for State, local, and Tribal governments.

Mobility21/Safety21 Researchers Meet with FARIA

September 22, 2023
Posted in What's Happening

September 22, 2023

A delegation of Finnish professionals from the FARIA (Finnish-American Research Innovation Accelerator) network visited Carnegie Mellon and interacted with Mobility21/Safety21 researchers Katherine Flanigan, Corey Harper, Chris Hendrickson, Christoph Mertz and Sean Qian.

Governor Shapiro Comes to CMU

September 20, 2023
Posted in What's Happening

September 20, 2023

Mobility21/Safety21 Interim Executive Director Karen Lightman was in attendance as Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro visited the CMU campus to announce and sign an executive order that engages the CMU and the Shapiro Administration as partners in responsibly developing and deploying generative artificial intelligence applications and services for the benefit of state government and Pennsylvanians more broadly.

Michael Baker International Selected as Program Manager for Pennsylvania Safety Transportation and Research Track

September 20, 2023
Posted in What's Happening

September 20, 2023

Michael Baker International, a global leader in engineering, planning and consulting services, announced today that the firm has been selected as the program manager for the  Pennsylvania Safety Transportation and Research Track (PennSTART) by the Regional Industrial Development Corporation (RIDC).  Read the full press release here.

City of Pittsburgh and UTC Researcher Project Presented During CMU Course

September 20, 2023
Posted in What's Happening

September 20, 2023

Mobility21/Safety21 UTC researcher Sean Qian’s Smart Loading Zone project was presented by Rylan Siefert of the City of Pittsburgh Department of Mobility & Infrastructure to Professor Raelin Musuraca‘s User-Centered Research and Evaluation course at Carnegie Mellon University, where students were given an opportunity to ask questions about the project.

Lunch and Learn Features Michael Madison from University of Pittsburgh

September 19, 2023
Posted in What's Happening

September 19, 2023

Mobility21/Safety21, along with Metro21: Smart Cities Institute and the Remaking Cities Institute at Carnegie Mellon University hosted a lunch and learn featuring Professor Michael Madison, who discussed “Governing Smart Cities as Knowledge Commons.”

Safety21 Partner Launches the Fall 2023 RoboLaunch Outreach Seminar Series

September 13, 2023
Posted in What's Happening

September 13, 2023

Safety21 partner, the CMU Robotics Institute Summer Scholars, launches the fall 2023 RoboLaunch Outreach Seminar Series! The CMU RISS RoboLaunch Initiative invites undergraduate students and the community worldwide interested in learning about robotics research, paths to graduate school, and careers to explore robotics with us!

Safety21 Attends Appalachian Regional Commission’s Annual Conference in Ashland, KY

September 13, 2023
Posted in What's Happening

September 13, 2023

Mobility21/Safety21 Interim Executive Director Karen Lightman joined leaders from across Appalachia in Ashland, KY for the Appalachian Regional Commission’s 2023 Annual Conference, Appalachia Rises: Resilience, Strength and Transformation.  The conference focused on the importance of resiliency and collaboration in the region.

Gonzaga University Representatives Visit CMU Campus

September 8, 2023
Posted in What's Happening

September 8, 2023

Mobility21/Safety21 Interim Executive Director joined members of Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College to host representatives from Gonzaga University, where they learned more about programs offered at CMU as they prepare to open their own Institute of Informatics and Applied Technology.

UTC Researcher Named Director of Wilton E. Scott Institute for Energy Innovation at CMU

September 1, 2023
Posted in What's Happening

September 1, 2023

Mobility21/Safety21 UTC researcher Costa Samaras has been named the next director for the Wilton E. Scott Institute for Energy Innovation at Carnegie Mellon University.  Read more here.

US Department of Transportation Deputy Secretary Visits Safety21

August 30, 2023
Posted in What's Happening

August 21, 2023

U.S. Department of Transportation Deputy Secretary Polly Trottenberg joined researchers from the Mobility21 and Safety21 University Transportation Centers at Mill19 to learn more about the UTC program at Carnegie Mellon University.

Safety21 Congratulates the 2023 Robotics Scholars

August 28, 2023
Posted in What's Happening

August 28, 2023

Carnegie Mellon’s Robotics Institute Summer Scholars (RISS) community of mentors, sponsors, and alumni congratulate the 2023 cohort for their successful completion of the program! 

Each year, hundreds of students apply to join the RISS program.  The RISS community of sponsors makes the program and experience a possibility. Undergraduate research experiences, long recognized as a high-impact education practice, are critical to growing the nation’s research and scientific community. Safety21 is an ongoing sponsor and partner for the RISS program.  RISS also serves as an equity deployment partner for the Center.

TRB Highlights Mobility21 UTC Summit in Newsletter

August 22, 2023
Posted in What's Happening

August 21, 2023

The Transportation Research Board highlighted the Mobility21 Fourth Annual National Mobility Summit held in Washington, DC in March 2023 in a recent newsletter, highlighting Equity in Transportation.  Read the full article here.

Mobility21 and Safety21 UTC Researcher Discusses Alternative Fuels

August 21, 2023
Posted in What's Happening

August 21, 2023

Traffic21 Director and Mobility21/Safety21 UTC researcher Chris Hendrickson was featured in the trade journal Route One, discussing coach and bus alternative fuels with Paul Halford.

Robotics in Rural Pennsylvania

August 15, 2023
Posted in What's Happening

August 15, 2023

Mobility21 UTC researcher Rachel Burcin curated a day of robotics and AI educator workshops in Venango, PA, as a kickoff for the 2023 educator conversations led by Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Scholars Program in partnership with the Institution for Innovation for Tomorrow and County Commissioner Chip Abramovic.  The educator day was adjacent to the first Venango Rural STEM Summit, which was originally inspired by Dr. Jordi Albo’s work in rural spaces across the world.  

PennSTART Hosts Inaugural Training

August 12, 2023
Posted in What's Happening

August 12, 2023

PennSTART hosted their inaugural training class for the Fire Department Safety Officers Association (FDSOA) Traffic Incident Management Technical Specialist Certification.  This is a free 8-hour training course available to first responders including fire fighters, EMS, PennDOT, and others.

UTC Researchers Submit Public Comments on EPA Standards

August 11, 2023
Posted in What's Happening

August 11, 2023

Mobility21 UTC researcher Jeremy Michalek submitted public comments on EPA’s proposed light-duty vehicle GHG standards through the Vehicle Electrification Group.  Read the comments here.

Architecture and Design Thesis Explores AVs

August 11, 2023
Posted in What's Happening

August 11, 2023

Mobility21 UTC researcher Stan Caldwell joined a masters thesis review panel for CMU Master of Science in Sustainable Design student Yi Zhao.  Zhao’s research applied innovative design applications to explore urban design and equity scenarios of shared autonomous transportation in a disadvantaged neighborhood in Pittsburgh.  Read the full report here.

SURCOM Program Director Highlights Mobility21 Research at APTAtech

August 2, 2023
Posted in What's Happening

August 2, 2023

Dr. Jill Hough, Program Director at Small Urban and Rural Center On Mobility (SURCOM) recently shared Mobility21 UTC research from Sarah Fox and Nik Martelaro at APTAtech, highlighting transit technology research done by the University Transportation Center.

Mobility21 Director Participates in Autonomy Debate

July 27, 2023
Posted in What's Happening

July 27, 2023

Mobility21 Director Raj Rajkumar participated in a debate, “Autonomy: Coasting or Crashing” which sought to answer whether or not AVs will be mainstream in the next 10 years.  Alongside Prof. Rajkumar in the debate was Brad Templeton, founding faculty for Computing & Networks at Singularity University.

Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation Graduate Fellowship Awarded to CMU Ph.D. Student

July 27, 2023
Posted in What's Happening

July 27, 2023

Ph.D. candidate Sofia Martinez has been awarded the prestigious Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation Graduate Fellowship by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration. Co-advised by Mobility21 UTC researchers Costa Samaras and Corey Harper she is focused on the electrification of the U.S. public transportation sector to reduce carbon emissions. Read the story

Mobility21 Researchers Investigate Impacts of Online Grocery Delivery on Energy Use

July 27, 2023
Posted in What's Happening

July 27, 2023

Mobility21 UTC and CMU researchers Destenie Nock, Corey Harper, Jeremy Michalek and CMU faculty affiliate Greg Lowry have been investigating the impacts of online grocery delivery on energy use, emissions and traffic congestion.  Their work created a new tool to aid policy-making and planning sustainable, equitable transportation systems.

PennDOT Secretary and FHWA Regional Administrator Lead STIC Meeting

July 26, 2023
Posted in What's Happening

July 26, 2023

Stan Caldwell, Mobility21 Executive Director and founding member of the Pennsylvania State Transportation Innovation Council (STIC), participated in the meeting today to provide insight on how UTC researchers could support state transportation innovations.  The quarterly STIC meeting was co-chaired by PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll and FHWA Pennsylvania Division Administrator Alicia Nolan.

The Ohio State University Uses AI to Monitor Traffic

July 26, 2023
Posted in What's Happening

July 26, 2023

Researchers at The Ohio State University, a Mobility21 UTC academic partner, have proposed using cameras installed on camera buses on campus to detect objects on the road and count vehicles in an effort to monitor traffic conditions.  Read the full story here.