Texas A&M University System

Texas Transportation Institute

Mission

The mission of the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) is to conduct research, technology transfer and professional education in all modes of transportation and their interfaces and to develop diverse human resources for transportation.

Priorities and Goals

The issues faced by the public and private transportation sectors have grown more severe and more complex over the past several decades. TTI’s institutional priorities and strategic goals respond to six mega-transportation issues that must be addressed in this new century:  safety, congestion and mobility, environmental quality, financing, security, and workforce development.

The Institute’s strategic goals relate to those issues as well as to the A&M System’s goals of fostering collaboration, increasing the value of research, and serving Texas and beyond. TTI’s strategic goals are to:

• broaden the scope of the TTI research program to include all modes of transportation;
• partner with other universities in Texas, and, where appropriate, with transportation entities in other states;
• broaden the range of industry partnerships to include industries in all transportation modes;
• expand multi-agency partnerships;
• foster and nurture the relationship with the Texas Department of Transportation, our largest research sponsor;
• maintain the Institute’s leadership role in transportation research; and
• enhance the quality of all agency operations.

To meet these goals, TTI has created a management structure and an institutional culture that encourage individual and team initiative, reward performance and integrity, and recognize and support diversity in people, ideas and programs. TTI strives to recruit and develop personnel who have superior intellectual ability and motivation, who are able to work effectively individually and in teams, and who have exceptional potential for leadership and accomplishment.

Commentary on Top Priorities

The need for transportation research has never been greater, nor has the need for well-educated transportation professionals. Over its 55-year history, TTI has made fundamental research breakthroughs in transportation safety, materials, structures, traffic operations and planning methods. It is often said that every mile of roadway in Texas has been positively affected by TTI research.

The Institute’s research program has expanded over the years to address the changing needs of sponsors and the new challenges facing all parts of the transportation system. TTI researchers are actively involved in addressing urban congestion issues; applying advanced technologies to enhance the movement of people and goods; examining critical concerns with rail, port, general aviation and public transportation systems; exploring ways to improve the safety and security of the transportation system; and developing new materials, procedures and methods for roadways and other infrastructure elements.

TTI’s strategic priorities for 2006 and the following several years are based on the strategic goals and the mega-transportation issues listed previously.

The four strategic priorities for 2006 are:

• assisting in returning the vitality and national leadership of the TTI/Texas A&M University Civil Engineering Transportation Systems Program;
• expanding and diversifying the TTI research program;
• securing approval and funding for a new TTI research building; and
• fostering existing partnerships and developing new collaborative efforts.

Assist in Returning the Vitality and National Leadership of the TTI/Texas A&M Civil Engineering Transportation Systems Program

Due to many factors, the Texas A&M Civil Engineering Transportation Systems Program has lost key faculty members over the past five years and has seen a decline in undergraduate and graduate students interested in transportation. As a result, the program has lost some of its state and national prominence, which is a serious problem for TTI as well as for the College of Engineering. TTI depends on the civil engineering program for graduate and undergraduate students and faculty researchers. Further, TTI is able to hire many of the top graduates of the civil engineering masters and Ph.D. programs.

The Department of Civil Engineering has addressed this problem aggressively over the past two years and TTI has been assisting in this effort. Progress has been made with the recruiting of three new faculty in 2004, two of whom are TTI researchers with national reputations. One of these individuals is serving as civil engineering division head for materials and transportation. TTI is providing funds for faculty start-up and for graduate student support, as well as needed improvements to research facilities.

Fully meeting this goal will take several years. The goal for 2006 is to double the number of new Ph.D. students compared with 2004. By 2009, the goal is to have hired two more new faculty and increased the cadre of doctoral students to 20. A continuing goal is to involve at least two TTI researchers in teaching civil engineering courses on an ongoing basis.

Expand and Diversify the TTI Research Program

The Institute performs research for a wide range of public and private sponsors. TTI is noted for research that addresses key transportation issues and provides sponsors with implementable solutions.

The Institute’s close and valued relationship with the Texas Department of Transportation has been a cornerstone of the research program. TTI has also conducted numerous research projects for federal, state and local agencies; the National Highway Cooperative Research Program and the Transit Cooperative Research Program; and numerous public agencies and private organizations.

The Institute strives to support the expanding and evolving needs of current and future sponsors. Expanding and diversifying the research program is critical to meeting the complex challenges facing the public and private transportation sectors. TTI will continue to provide new skill sets, new ways of thinking, and enhance laboratories and facilities to serve the needs of traditional and new sponsors. The Institute will also aggressively pursue opportunities to provide its expertise and services to new sponsors.

The new Southwest Center for Transportation Research and Testing in Pecos, Texas, provides an example of TTI’s continuing efforts to expand and diversify its research program. TTI, along with Applied Research Associates and the Pecos Economic Development Corporation, has established academic-industry collaboration at a 5,800-acre facility in Pecos. Built in 1961 by B.F. Goodrich for testing tires, the Pecos site includes a number of test tracks and road courses that will be useful in a wide range of research, including vehicle and component testing, safety and environment, pavements, retroreflectivity, intelligent transportation systems and vegetation management.

No other university in Texas has access to this kind of unique facility, which offers opportunities to perform additional work for existing sponsors and to develop research with new sponsors. TTI will aggressively promote research at this facility in 2006, with a goal of developing at least two projects using the center.

Secure Approval and Funding for a New TTI Building

TTI personnel are currently located in the CE/TTI Building on the Texas A&M campus and in the Gibb Gilchrist Research Building in the Texas A&M Research Park. The Gilchrist Building was opened in 1999 and allowed TTI to consolidate staff from leased space adjacent to the campus.

The need for additional office and laboratory space has increased as the TTI research program has grown. TTI is currently working with Texas A&M and the A&M System to secure approval and funding by 2006 for a new TTI research building at the Gilchrist site in the research park. The proposed initiative has been tentatively approved by the university, as it will free 13,500 square feet of space on the main campus for use in the university’s faculty reinvestment program, while providing needed expansion space for TTI.

Actively Fostering Existing Partnerships and Developing New Collaborative Efforts

Several of the Institute’s strategic goals involve developing new partnerships and enhancing existing relationships, which are critical in providing the research capabilities needed by sponsors. To meet those needs, TTI fosters collaborative programs with universities, other state and local agencies, and with the private sector in Texas and in other states. Recent partnerships include memoranda of agreement with Texas A&M’s College of Architecture and its Bush School of Government and Public Service. The establishment of a TTI Regional Division at Texas A&M University-Kingsville provides another recent example of a new partnership to help address transportation needs in all parts of the state and to foster interaction with faculty and students throughout the A&M System.

These agreements strengthen and formalize the ad hoc collaborations that have evolved over several years, and enhance all parties’ opportunities for external funding. The agreement with the College of Architecture enhances research opportunities for faculty, expands support to graduate students working on TTI research projects, and fosters TTI researchers’ contributions to transportation planning courses.

The Bush School partnership adds a strong policy component to TTI’s research program, while TTI offers Bush policy researchers technical expertise in a wide range of transportation technology and planning. A&M-Kingsville’s strong engineering program and its link to the Palo Alto University Center in San Antonio enhance TTI’s urban office there and brings specialized expertise to the research addressing transportation issues along the Texas-Mexico border. Additionally, A&M-Kingsville is a welcome addition to the Summer Transportation Institute, one of TTI’s premier programs to encourage diversity in the transportation workforce. The goal for 2006 is to develop at least one joint project with A&M-Kingsville, to increase to at least four by 2009.

Commentary on Other Topics

Diversity

The 21st century economy demands an educated workforce, particularly in science, mathematics, engineering and technology. This is especially true in transportation, where new technological innovations are rapidly revolutionizing the industry.

TTI has long been committed to helping Texas develop and maintain a high quality and diverse technological workforce and has instituted several programs to help in that effort. The Institute’s Regional Division program provides critical research links with historically black and Hispanic-serving institutions. These partnerships enhance TTI’s ability to address transportation issues while providing financial support for minority students.

The Institute’s Center for Professional Development supports education and outreach for current and future leaders of the transportation profession. One of the center’s most successful programs, the Texas Summer Transportation Institute (STI), has played a role in encouraging high school students to pursue careers in science and technology. Working in partnership with Texas Southern University, Paul Quinn College, Palo Alto College and Prairie View A&M University, the STI aims to increase mathematics, science and engineering opportunities for high school students in Texas.

The STI, funded in part by the Federal National Summer Transportation Institute, and with considerable in-kind and financial support from the transportation industry in Texas, provides activities to qualifying students that include an overview of careers in the transportation industry, tours of transportation facilities and the opportunity to participate in transportation research activities during a two-week period in the summer in Houston, Dallas and San Antonio.

During the program’s first three years, 171 students participated. More than 56 percent of those students have graduated from high school, with the remaining 44 percent still in school. All of the program’s graduates entered college, with a majority aiming to pursue careers in mathematics, science, business, technology and transportation engineering. Several are pursuing careers in aviation, and about 10 percent have passed exams to become licensed pilots or air traffic controllers.

TTI continues to strive to increase the diversity of its workforce at all levels. The Institute’s partnerships with universities in the A&M System and elsewhere in the state provide ongoing opportunities to attract a diverse employee base.

Research/External Funding

As a contract research organization, less than 14 percent of TTI’s total funding is from state appropriations. Thus, maintaining external research funding is essential to the Institute’s survival. Despite the near-elimination of the federal competitive transportation research program, a dramatic increase in federal transportation research earmarks to states other than Texas, and increased competition at the state level, TTI continues to maintain its leadership in transportation research.

The value of transportation research has been validated by a study conducted by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), which determined that every dollar invested in transportation research returns at least five dollars in benefits. When all state funds are considered, TTI’s leverage ratio is 8:1; that is, eight additional research dollars are secured for each dollar of state appropriations. Those benefits can be measured in terms of lives saved by improved safety devices and better roadways, dollars saved by enhanced highway design and construction methods, or by the time and money saved by commuters due to improved mobility resulting from traffic management innovations. This analysis confirms the fact that dollars invested in transportation research pay tangible and visible benefits to Texans and to the nation at large.

Because of their reputation for quality work and their responsiveness to the needs of sponsors and clients, TTI researchers have succeeded in this highly competitive environment including TxDOT’s competitive research program. The Institute has conducted nearly twice as many National Competitive Highway Research Program projects as any other transportation research organization or university transportation research program in the nation. TTI’s contract research expenditures reached a new high in 2004, some $35.6 million.

Because research programs in federal and state agencies often change or even disappear, the Institute is committed to remaining flexible enough to respond to new research opportunities without sacrificing excellence or its commitment to strategic goals. The agency’s ability to quickly assemble teams of researchers from various disciplines and its experience in multidisciplinary research are important factors in sponsors’ decisions to fund research at TTI. Another important element to the agency’s financial stability is the efficient administrative and financial team, which helps help secure and administer more than 400 research projects each year.

Fiscal Stability

TTI has a reputation for being conservatively managed. This is reflected in very clean audits from the various auditing offices and agencies. Financially, the Institute is very strong. With one exception, research expenditures have increased each year for the last 10 years. Financial reserves have remained stable and are appropriate for the size of TTI’s operations.

Operational Efficiencies

TTI has consistently been awarded high marks for its efficient operations. Over the past few years, as budget reductions have been required, the Institute has diligently searched for every possible efficiency, while continuing to provide the administrative, technical and support services essential to our research staff.

As part of its Continuous Improvement Process, TTI has introduced many other cost-saving and administrative efficiencies, many of which are the result of the implementation of information technologies. Printing and distribution costs have been nearly eliminated as almost all internal communications—fiscal, human resources and administrative memoranda, and division/department newsletters—have been shifted to the TTI Intranet.

Most required forms are now online, as is a streamlined human resources processing system. TTI has fully implemented the LeaveTraq staff leave request system, further reducing paper flow and saving time for staff and supervisors. Efficiencies in the business office, including the implementation of an Oracle database that tracks pre-award information and project deliverables, have made it possible for researchers to have better and faster access to project financial data. This is part of a comprehensive research administration system that has enabled the agency to be increasingly accountable to research sponsors. All TTI facility maintenance logs are also automated, again ensuring that essential maintenance and needed repairs are done in a timely manner.

A full review of all agency rules and regulations has been undertaken to ensure compliance with A&M System policies, and a new and improved system of providing that essential information to staff has been put in place. The agency has also completed its business continuity, disaster recovery, and crisis communications plans, all of which are available to employees online.

Other Institutional Priorities

TTI is currently exploring a number of international transportation research opportunities, including the need for transportation assistance in Afghanistan, South America and India. These areas may offer significant funding possibilities and contribute to TTI’s long-range goal of continuing to serve a diverse sponsor base.