AnnuAl RepoRt - University of Alabama at Birmingham

UAB UTC Assists Fellow UTCs in Research Selection
UAB UTC leaders have as a core value, the belief that
leaders of all federally funded research centers must be
ever-mindful that the money they are privileged to spend
on behalf of their centers and the research, educationtraining
and service projects conducted therein comes
from and belongs to the American taxpayers.
At the UAB UTC, our fundamental, underlying operating
principle is that the taxpayers deserve to have their money
spent in a judicious, efficient and effective manner. Part
of being a good steward of taxpayer money is making
sure that funded research projects meet or exceed a high
standard of excellence. This includes assuring that high
standards of excellence in research are not only pursued
but also met by UAB UTC scientists. In other words, a
thorough research project review process is essential to
selecting first-rate project proposals that will best serve
the taxpayers who underwrite them.
Being a responsible steward of taxpayer money is a
defining characteristic of the UAB UTC. The UAB UTC
Leadership not only embraces a sense of responsibility for
the fate of the money awarded to its UTC, but also for the
fate of the money awarded to other UTCs. In support of
this commitment, the UAB UTC Leadership makes every
attempt to avail an appropriate staff member as a research
project reviewer for other UTCs whenever possible.
This year, Dr. Russ Fine and Dr. Andrea Underhill volunteered
to review, critique, score and make “fund / do not
fund” recommendations for several research proposals
submitted to Transportation Northwest at the University
of Washington. TransNow, as the Center is most commonly
referred, is a Regional University Transportation
Center (UTC) administered by the USDOT through RITA.
Similarly, Dr. Despina Stavrinos volunteered to review,
critique, score and make “fund / do not fund” recommendations
for the University Transportation Research Center
(UTRC) at the City College of New York.
UAB UTC Exploring
Partnership with Volvo
In early August, Dr. Russ Fine, Mr. Jeffrey Foster and Dr.
Despina Stavrinos traveled to Greensboro, North Carolina
to meet with Dr. Karin Svensson and Dr. Jan Hellager of
Volvo Technology – North America (VTEC). The meeting’s
purpose was to explore a potential partnership with
Volvo to conduct a new line of research examining
distracted driving and heavy truck operators. We are
pleased to report the exchange was very positive and the
UAB UTC’s presentation well-received by VTEC
representatives.
Subsequent to the early August meeting, Drs. Svensson
and Hellager presented the UAB UTC collaboration
concept to other Volvo Truck scientists in Sweden. Subsequently,
UAB was advised that VTEC was “positive”
about the concept of merging the two projects; and, that
VTEC representatives would notify NTRCI officials about
the important conceptual accord that had been reached.
As this is written, UAB UTC representatives and VTEC
leadership from the Greensboro, NC office are continuing
the partnership discussions to determine whether the two
independent proposals can, in fact, be merged at this late
stage of the NTRCI award process.
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uab utc annual report 2009-2010