UMD Advanced Transportation Technologies Day Just Two Weeks Away

COLLEGE PARK, Md., Aug. 13, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On Thursday, Aug. 28, the University of Maryland (UMD) A. James Clark School of Engineering will host its first-ever Advanced Transportation Technologies Day open house event, during which participants will explore some of the Washington/Baltimore region's most state-of-the-art transportation labs – just ahead of one of the year's busiest travel weekends.

Attendees will get an exclusive first look at the Labor Day weekend traffic trend map, learn where to spot the worst bottlenecks in the state of Maryland, find out how to steer clear of the area's most dangerous roads and hear firsthand how UMD transportation engineers are doing more than monitoring roadways – they're also improving Eastern Shore hurricane evacuation routes, contributing to regional development efforts, and creating intelligent systems for incident response and traffic management.

Taking place at UMD's College Park campus, this event will offer guests the chance to view labs in the Jeong H. Kim Engineering Building, Glenn L. Martin Hall and other facilities.

Each Clark School transportation lab will be available to guests and members of the media from 8:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. Those interested in visiting all of the featured labs can follow the flexible agenda listed below. Additionally, visitors can tour the Metropolitan Area Transportation Operations Coordination at the noted time.

• 8:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. – Center of Advanced Transportation Technology Lab (CATT Lab) 
  Location: Jeong H. Kim Engineering Building, Suite 3105
  Established in 2002 as an academic applied research and development lab to support national, state and local efforts to solve important transportation, safety and security problems, CATT Lab capabilities and features include: 
  • Traffic visualization
  • Real-time transportation performance monitoring
  • Real-time incident and work-zone monitoring
  • Data fusion integration of information from emergency operations centers, transportation management centers and thousands of sensors, cameras and sub-systems across the country
• 8:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. – Traffic Safety and Operations Lab 
  Location: Jeong H. Kim Engineering Building, Suite 3111
  The Traffic Safety and Operations Lab works to advance development in traffic sciences and convert valuable research findings into projects to improve local traffic safety and mitigate congestion in main commuting corridors. Recent projects include:
  • Eastern Shore travel and evacuation routes
  • Innovative intersection design for congestion mitigation
  • Incident response and traffic management for Maryland's Coordinated Highways Action Response Team
  • A multi-modal emergency evacuation system for the city of Baltimore
• 9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. – National Transportation Center 
  Location: Glenn L. Martin Hall, Suite 1124
  As one of the five national transportation centers funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), the National Transportation Center at Maryland aims to promote strategic transportation policies, investment and decisions that bring lasting and equitable economic benefits to the U.S. and its citizens. Research topics and goals include:
  • Congestion Mitigation
  • Economic Development
  • Safety Improvement
  • Emergency Preparedness
  • Urban Development and Sustainability
• 10:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. – Light Refreshments
  Location: UMD Glenn L. Martin Hall
• 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. – Metropolitan Area Transportation Operations Coordination 
  Location: 5000 College Ave, Suite 3121, College Park, Md.
  In addition to UMD's labs, event participants are invited to venture off UMD's main campus to tour the Metropolitan Area Transportation Operations Coordination (MATOC) to see how UMD researchers play a key role in the region's coordinated incident management practices for day-to-day operations as well as during larger regional incidents. MATOC capabilities and objectives include:
  • Quick and reliable exchange of transportation system information among operating agencies in the National Capital Region
  • Coordination of transportation management strategies in response to incidents, emergencies and weather-related events

The CATT Lab, Traffic Safety and Operations Lab and National Transportation Center are located in the Jeong H. Kim Engineering Building and Glenn L. Martin Hall, highlighted on the UMD campus map. Attendees should park in Lot XX1 – highlighted in green – in the metered parking section.

MATOC is located a short walk from the College Park metro station, and is accessible from campus via the UMD shuttle.

Those interested in attending must RSVP online for this free event. Media should contact Alyssa Wolice at (301) 405-2057 or [email protected].

Media Contact:
Alyssa Wolice
(301) 405-2057

SOURCE University of Maryland A. James Clark School of Engineering