Every year during the Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board (TRB), the UFTI hosts a reception of more than 150 students, alumni, academics, and transportation professionals in the public and private sectors. Held at a local restaurant in Washington, D.C., just a block away from the Marriott Marquis, where many of the conference sessions took place. The atmosphere at the reception was jovial and collegial.

This year’s meeting was especially important to the UFTI because the Institute is now home to the recently awarded 2016 regional (Southeast) University Transportation Center (UTC), known as the STRIDE Center or Southeastern Transportation Research, Innovation, Development, and Education Center.

The STRIDE Center has been operational since 2012 with partners from Auburn University, Florida International University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Mississippi State University, North Carolina State University, University of Alabama at Birmingham, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  The new grant added three more partners to the Center:  The Citadel, Jackson State University, and Tennessee Technological University. The new STRIDE Center will focus on reducing congestion.