Academic Council

The Academic Council was officially formed in 2014. Its vision, mission, membership fees and benefits are listed below. Sensing much new interest in advanced transit, AC is inviting institutions to join as we seek new paths forward for automated mobility in our society. Membership includes individual membership for up to five faculty/staff and an unlimited number of students.

So far the Academic Council has participated in or instituted

  • A $500.00 annual student paper award
  • $2,000.00 grant to San Jose state with their work on solar powered automated transit networks
  • Yearly participation in the TRB/AUVSI Automated Vehicles symposium, organizing the transit and shared mobility breakout session, and this past summer additional transit themes in other breakout sessions
  • An all day workshop sponsored by : UCDavis, National Center for Sustainable Transportation, Southern California Association of Governments, ARUP, Kimley Horn, Fehr & Peers, and NCIT, National Center for Intermodal Transportation. The workshop committee focused the event on assisting Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO’s) in their efforts to address these new automated technologies
  • An NSF Sustainability Research Networks competition grant application with San Jose state taking the lead
  • Presentations at the PodCar city conference
  • and so much more!!

Vision
An ongoing, active, worldwide forum of researchers interested in the study and development of automated mobility for public conveyance including automated transit networks (ATNs). This will serve as a foundation for research through problem statements, proposals, pursuit of grants, conduct of research, critical review of academic works, experimentation and testing, and data collection and analysis.

Mission
To connect researchers to high-level resources, funding, and publication tools while supporting a global, academic foundation for research and development of automated and networked public transit systems. To create a forum for academic council members for sharing information and the dissemination of ATN research literature. The Council would ultimately establish or participate with research centres for experimentation, analysis, testing, and documentation of ATN networks.

Academic Council Charter Members
University of Maryland, United States The mission of the University of Maryland, College Park is to provide excellence in teaching, research, and service.  
Princeton University, United States Princeton University is a vibrant community of scholarship and learning that stands in the nation’s service and in the service of all nations.  Princeton University
University of Bologna, Italy The University of Bologna was probably the first University in the western world. Its history is one of great thinkers in science and the humanities, making it an indispensable point of reference in the panorama of European culture.  
Mineta Transportation Institute, United States Founded in 1991, the Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI) is a University Transportation Center (UTC) located in the College of Business at San Jose State University. MTI conducts transportation research, education, workforce development, and technology transfer activities. Research projects address the US DOT strategic goals of Safety, Economic Competitiveness, Livable Communities and Environmental Sustainability.  MTI logo
Southern Illinois University, United States Southern Illinois University, now in its second century, is a major public higher education institution dedicated to quality academic endeavours in teaching and research.  
 The University of Utah, United States As a world-renowned Tier 1 university and a member of the Pac-12, the University of Utah ranks among the world’s top 100 research universities and top 75 public universities in the U.S. The U offers over 100 undergraduate majors and more than 90 graduate degree programs.  University_of_Utah_logo

Membership Fee :

For more information on the ATRA Academic Council, feel free to contact the ATRA Academic Council Chairperson: Shannon Sanders McDonald, Southern Illinois University, smcdonald@siu.edu

Academic Memberships also include all the Individual member benefits for the Faculty/Staff/Students provided and more:

  • Contacts with a wide variety of transportation professionals specifically interested in automated transit
  • Discounts on registration fees for ATRA sponsored APM and PRT conferences
  • Discount on registration fees for PodcarCity Conferences
  • Access to ATRA information papers, documents, studies, blog, and website
  • Subscription to the ATRA Pulse monthly e-Newsletter
  • Knowledge that you are building a global alliance of supporters of innovative transportation technologies
  • Satisfaction in advancing transit and urban life and working with peers to meet the 21st century transportation needs!

To join, please complete the Membership information on our membership page.
Our Membership Coordinator will contact you with details and instructions on how we can assist your school in taking advantage of your ATRA Membership.