Overview of 2016 Consortium Members

The member institutions that comprise the consortium have excellent facilities and significant resources that are essential to completing our research and education goals. The combined resources of the MATC consortium members include major research libraries, state-of-the art computer facilities, laboratories, and office space. In addition, university staff members help efficiently administer MATC projects and activities across the consortium.

MATC has access to a unique, comprehensive set of multi-modal research and testing facilities. A wide range of research has been conducted with these facilities and sponsored by various public and private agencies. A description of each facility is provided below.

University of Nebraska-Lincoln
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) is the primary research and doctoral degree-granting institution in Nebraska. As Nebraska's land-grant university, it serves as the flagship institution of the University of Nebraska system. UNL has extensive experience in federal- and non-federal-sponsored research, as evidenced by its annual submission and receipt of grants in excess of $150 million. With two state-of-the-art transportation laboratories–an Intelligent Transportation Laboratory, and a Visualization and Simulation Laboratory (as well as a Structural and Geomaterials Laboratory on campus)–Prem S. Paul Research Center at Whittier School, the UNL facility for the Nebraska Transportation Center (NTC), is an investment by the University of Nebraska Administration that is contributing substantially to MATC's core initiatives of research, education, and tech transfer.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
The University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) is the state’s only public center for academic health sciences. UNMC has developed an award-winning reputation for education, medical research, patient care, and community outreach. The medical center houses the Center for Biosecurity, Biopreparedness, & Emerging Infectious Disease (CBBEID), the Center for Health Policy, the Center for Neurodegenerative Disorders, and the Health Education, Rural Health, and Traffic Injury Prevention and Acute Treatment Programs.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
The Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering at the Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T) has a broad-based program with seven emphasis areas, including structures, geotechnical engineering, construction, materials, transportation, environmental engineering, and hydraulics. Missouri S&T research activities related to infrastructural engineering and intelligent systems are coordinated by several research centers. The umbrella organization, the Center for Intelligent Infrastructure (CII), plays a significant role in the execution of initiatives within transportation infrastructure areas. The primary research areas developed over the years include existing structure rehabilitations, load test bridge assessment, non-destructive evaluation, the monitoring technologies, and robot-based inspection and maintenance for civil infrastructure. In addition to research capabilities, Missouri S&T has a strong education outreach program with ongoing K-12 programs.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
The University of Iowa (UI) brings a number of important research groups to the MATC consortium. UI's Public Policy Center (PPC) was formed in 1987 to facilitate interdisciplinary academic research on public policy issues. Research teams at PPC address a number of important policy areas including transportation, health care, human factors and vehicle safety, economic development, social equity, and environmental quality. UI is also home to the National Advanced Driving Simulator–the most advanced driving simulator in the world. Developed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), it is used to conduct research that will ultimately reduce the loss of lives and property on the nation's roadways. In fact, research at UI is focused on improving the safety of roadways in a variety of ways: by understanding the safety climate of commercial operations, improving the safety bridge crossings, and mitigating accident severity by reducing the potential for freight-related explosions.

Educational programming at UI has included coordinating a research symposium that is open to undergraduate and graduate students. Speakers are composed of industry professionals, from the public and private sectors, and topics of discussion have included the future of the transportation industry. Additionally, UI faculty added two courses, “Public Transit Operations” and “Planning and Freight Transportation Planning,” to expand the transportation offerings for students.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
The University of Kansas (KU) fosters cross-disciplinary research in emerging transportation issues that have broad significance. KU is home to the University of Kansas Transportation Center (KUTC), which conducts, coordinates, and promotes transportation training, technology transfer, and research to the State of Kansas and the surrounding region. The KUTC is a multi-disciplinary center of the University of Kansas operating since 1977, managing technology transfer and research programs. Primary areas of interest are highway engineering and maintenance, traffic engineering and safety, transportation workforce development, and community transit. The Center’s three primary programs are Kansas LTAP, Kansas RTAP, and the Kansas Local Field Liaison Program. Campus researchers and graduate students participate in research across related disciplines with colleagues from other universities and public transportation entities.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Lincoln University (LU), located in Jefferson, Missouri, has strong programs in business, finance, and accounting and has requested that education be the focus of their participation in MATC. As the only historically black college and university (HBCU) in Region VII, LU's participation is critical to the success of the education and technology transfer components of the MATC program.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
The University of Nebraska Omaha (UNO) houses the Peter Kiewit Institute of Information Science, Technology and Engineering, a dynamic alliance of education and industry that focuses on information technology and cyber security research. Experts at the Peter Kiewit Institute and health care professionals at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and the Nebraska Public Health Laboratory developed the Secure Telecommunications Application Terminal Package system (STATPack™). STATPack™ is a secure, dedicated, HIPPA-compliant web-based network system that supports telecommunication connectivity of clinical health laboratories to increase preparedness for bioterrorism events.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
The University of Kansas Medical Center (KUMC) is nationally recognized for providing exceptional education to health care professionals and for the many centers and institutes it houses. KUMC includes three schools: the School of Medicine, with campuses in Kansas City, Witchita, and Salina; the School of Nursing; and the School of Health Professions. The campus is shared with the University of Kansas Hospital.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Nebraska Indian Community College (NICC) is a two-year community tribal college located in Macy, Nebraska, which provides a high level of education, community-focused learning, and cultural preservation to students belonging to the UmóNhoN (Omaha) and Isanti (Santee Dakota) Nations and other learners. NICC is equipped to play an integral part in MATC’s education and workforce development initiatives. NICC serves as liaison to other community colleges in Region VII and to tribal colleges throughout the U.S. MATC partners with NICC for the Scholars Program held in the fall to assist Native American undergraduates with transitioning from two-year to four-year institutions. Several NICC faculty members joined additional guest speakers in leading sessions for Native American undergraduates about transitioning from two-year to four-year institutions.

Top photo: courtesy of Shelley Bhattacharya

Fourth photo from top: courtesy of Irtiza Khan

Bottom photo: courtesy of Missouri S&T