researchreview UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH INSTITUTE
JANUARY – MARCH 2021 • VOLUME 2
From the Director March 2021 marked the beginning of my second five-year term as the director of UMTRI. The first five years have passed more quickly than I expected. ’m finally at a point where I feel comfortable hanging more personal items in my office! The last five years have brought dramatic and profound changes to the Institute. The credit goes to the faculty and staff for committing to deliver on UMTRI’s mission to conduct multidisciplinary transportation research to advance safe, equitable, and efficient mobility.
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While there are multiple touchpoints over the past five years, I believe that our move to the College of Engineering was paramount. This move let us bring together complementary strengths and combine expertise. It also gave UMTRI researchers greater access to a wide range of engineering resources including labs, faculty, and in particular, students. Another benefit was the opportunity to develop a strategic plan, a document that will serve as our guide for the next five years. Through the strategic planning process we identified (and are working on) a number of action items that will make UMTRI stronger and even more competitive. I am increasingly optimistic, given the
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new administration in Washington and the manufacturing recovery, that we will begin to see additional sponsored research opportunities become available. This comes at an ever-critical time as we return to our pre-pandemic levels of activity, and strive to grow with every possible opportunity. Of course the last year has been like nothing we could have ever prepared for. The pandemic and its catastrophic impact on our personal lives is untold and will be felt for decades to come. But through it all, we have remained steadfast is our desire to serve, to do meaningful research and to build an organization that can truly weather any storm. The pandemic brought to the forefront the vulnerabilities in our already troubled
transportation/mobility system: access to medical treatment, to jobs, to school. Is public transportation safe? Are automated vehicles “the solution”? The pandemic also provided a stark reminder of the injustice so many experience in the country, and in our own backyard. If anything positive has come out of COVID-19, perhaps it’s that recognition of inequity. We are committed to better understanding how transportation/mobility systems can be part of the solution. And that is our sweet spot. Making an impact on millions of lives around the world. There will certainly be challenges ahead, but I am confident that we will meet those challenges head-on. James Sayer, UMTRI Director