Traffic21 was begun at Carnegie Mellon University to coalesce an interdisciplinary team of researchers to address real-world transportation problems through the research, development and deployment of intelligent transportation systems.  This work was pursued in partnership with government agencies, companies, and private, non-profit organizations. 

Following the success of some early deployment projects, CMU teamed with the University of Pennsylvania to compete for a US Department of Transportation University Transportation Center (UTC) grant. In 2012, CMU and UPENN were designated the Technologies for Safe and Efficient Transportation (T-SET) UTC and subsequently awarded as one of five National centers for 2012-2018. The T-SET UTC’s primary focus area was safety and the grant ended in 2018.

 In 2016, Traffic21 teamed with the University of Pennsylvania, the Ohio State University, and the Community College of Allegheny County to compete for another UTC grant. The team was awarded a National Center for improving mobility of people and goods for 2016-2022, called Mobility21, The National Center for Improving Mobility. This grant ended in 2023.

 In 2023, Traffic21 again teamed with the University of Pennsylvania, the Ohio State University, and the Community College of Allegheny County and added 3 new partners, Morgan State University, the Community College of Philadelphia and the University of Texas – Rio Grande Valley to compete for a new UTC.  The result was the award of the National UTC for safety for 2023 - 2028, is the current center, Safety21.

Visit our individual UTC websites or sign up here to learn more about our work.