Overview
The Institute of Transportation Studies at UC Davis was founded in 1991 as an Organized Research Unit under the aegis of the UC Davis Office of Research, and as a branch of the ITS Multicampus Research Unit (MRU) reporting to the UC Office of the President. (The other ITS branches are at UC Berkeley and UC Irvine.) Since then, ITS-Davis has evolved into a multifaceted program with more than 60 affiliated faculty members and 100 graduate students. Its primary program components are research, education, and outreach.
ITS-Davis is a national center of excellence addressing some of the toughest questions facing the transportation industry. It gives students the chance to work at one of the leading edges between policy and technology.
-- Gary Simon, Chairman, CleanStartInstitute researchers are known for their expertise in travel behavior and transport systems modeling, environmental vehicle technologies, and climate change, air quality, and other environmental impacts of transportation.
With the strength of such a diverse research program as its foundation, the Institute’s academic curriculum prepares students with the technical and critical thinking skills they need to contribute productively to transportation decision making. The Institute’s outreach program, in concert with its research and education activities, offers real-world input to the university and in turn provides policymakers and the public with new research and information on emerging transportation technologies and trends.
The Institute partners with academic and research centers on and off campus, and with industry, government, and nongovernmental organizations around the world. These partnerships ensure that ITS-Davis retains a broad-based, holistic, and independent perspective, and have helped ITS-Davis develop its increasingly prestigious and accomplished program.