The CREATE University Transportation Center (UTC) at Texas State University will host a visit from U.S. Department of Transportation officials to highlight federally funded research conducted by the center’s scholars.
CREATE—which stands for Coastal Research and Transportation Education—is hosting the forum on Thursday, March 6. Faculty members and students from TXST and partner universities will attend in person, while officials from the U.S. DOT’s Office of the Assistant Secretary of Research and Technology will participate online.
“The U.S. DOT visits every lead institution within each five-year cycle,” said Dr. Stacey Kulesza, CREATE’s director and an associate professor in the Ingram School of Engineering. “They come to see center activities, to meet with leadership, and to understand what’s going on at the center.”
In 2023, the U.S. Department of Transportation awarded TXST a $10 million grant over five years to fund CREATE as one of 34 UTCs nationwide. With consortium partners Oregon State University, Texas A&M University, University of Miami, and University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez, TXST is tasked with advancing transportation research, technology, and workforce.
Thursday’s event will include a presentation by faculty and student researchers on their work on subjects such as the use of titanium alloy bars for strengthening coastal infrastructure, coastal pavement conditions, and monitoring sediment movement from deep draft vessels .
The event will also include a discussion of upcoming projects for the third year of the UTC grant and faculty research group breakout sessions covering the topics of corrosion, coastal hazards, and ports and harbors.
“We’re always seeking to do cross-consortium collaborative projects, and the best way to have a strong collaboration is to have face-to-face meetings to talk about different research challenges and how we can support each other,” Kulesza said.
To close out the day, CREATE will host a Science on Tap at Zelick’s Icehouse, featuring presentations by engineers and researchers about infrastructure durability.