Department of Transportation gives $1.4 million to research group led by UA
by January 5, 2017 10:42 am 182 views
A group of maritime transportation researchers, led by the University of Arkansas, has received $1.4 million to continue finding ways to improve the efficiency of maritime and multimodal logistics.
U.S. Department of Transportation gave the grant to the group of researchers from six colleges and to renew the status of the Maritime Transportation Research and Education Center, or MarTREC, as a Tier 1 University Transportation Center, according to a news release. “The funding will support optimization of routes to relieve congestion and reduce demand on ports, highways and rail systems.”
MarTREC researchers have been working on the design of “supply-chain networks” to make better use of resources and reduce congestion on “navigable waterways.” They have been focused on designing and “planning for barge containers, shipping cycle times, reliability, safety and environmental preservation.” Researchers will also look at the impact of “new global shipping routes, including expanded use of the Panama Canal, on the U.S. transportation system.”
In 2014, 2.346 billion tons of freight was hauled on U.S. waterways, and nearly 40% of that amount was domestic cargo, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. “Research shows the use of navigation channels helped to avoid 58 million truck trips that would have doubled the number of trucks on the road,” said Heather Nachtmann, director of MarTREC and UA professor of industrial engineering. The consortium also includes researchers from Jackson State University in Mississippi, Louisiana State University, University of New Orleans, Vanderbilt University in Tennessee and Texas A&M University.
MarTREC is one of 20 centers in the United States designated as Tier 1, referring to the amount of grant funding the DOT awards them, according to the news release. The $1.4 million DOT grant is part of “an anticipated five-year program that will total up to $7 million in federal funding and $3.5 million in matching funds.”