Kansas University officials say they’re on the road to becoming a major player in transportation research following approval of $14.5 million funding by Congress in July.

The money will go to the Transportation Research Institute at KU. The institute, formed last year, will study a variety of transportation-related issues, ranging from bridge construction to airplanes of the future.

“We have some niche areas that are pretty well known,” said Stuart Bell, dean of the School of Engineering. “The plan is, when we’re done, to really launch us to a higher level.”

Rep. Jerry Moran, a Republican who represents much of western Kansas, and Sen. Pat Roberts secured the money for KU. It was included in the six-year federal transportation bill approved July 29 by the Senate after being approved the day before by the House.

The TRI builds on cross-disciplinary research already under way at KU, and Bell said plans call to add additional transportation research programs.

One of the research areas already under way is led by Dave Darwin, professor of civil, environmental and architectural engineering. He studies how to create more durable materials to prevent bridges from deteriorating. His research is currently being supported by 14 states and the Federal Highway Administration.

“What this is going to do is allow for the strengthening of all the research areas of transportation at KU,” he said. “We already are a national resource, but we’ll become a strengthened national resource.”

Other areas of research will include:

¢ Creating alternative-fuel buses for the Kansas City region.

¢ Remote sensing of vehicle emissions in Kansas City.

¢ Fuel cell research to provide alternatives to conventional fuel sources.

¢ Developing new vehicles with improved energy efficiency, lower pollution emissions and increased safety and durability.

¢ Intelligent transportation systems such as the NASA Small Aircraft Transportation System.

Bell said the money could be renewed when Congress considers another highway bill, which likely will be in six years. He said the legislation doesn’t restrict how the TRI spends the money.

“Some of that will go to emerging technologies that come up in the next five years,” he said.