National Institute for Transportation and Communities

Improving mobility of people and goods to build strong communities — through research, education and technology transfer.
The National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC) is one of five U.S. Department of Transportation national university transportation centers.
Housed at Portland State University, NITC is a program of the Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC). This Portland State-led research partnership includes the University of Oregon, Oregon Institute of Technology, University of Utah and new partners University of Arizona and University of Texas at Arlington.
Urban populations are increasing, yet so is income inequality. As the second-largest household expense, transportation is a significant contributing factor. Demographic shifts, along with efforts to address climate change and other policy challenges, are contributing to the demand for multimodal solutions. Rapid advances in technology and shared mobility have the potential to address these challenges, yet they also pose new ones in implementation and equity. With constrained resources, we need better data and tools to optimize mobility for all.
To address these challenges, our consortium of six leading universities focuses on research to:
INCREASE ACCESS TO OPPORTUNITIES
IMPROVE MULTI-MODAL PLANNING & SHARED USE OF INFRASTRUCTURE
ADVANCE INNOVATION & SMART CITIES
DEVELOP DATA, MODELS & TOOLS
Our research is designed with end-users in mind: elected and appointed decision-makers, transportation professionals, and an engaged public. We disseminate our research through education programs and toolkits in order to produce a diverse, interdisciplinary workforce at all levels and ages.
Our shared goal is a safe and efficient multimodal system that promotes economic opportunities, improves health, and reduces inequality - through innovative technology and effective, data-driven decision making.
The Origin of NITC
Portland State University, the University of Oregon, and the Oregon Institute of Technology jointly formed OTREC in 2005 - one of the first national university transportation centers to be designated and funded by the U.S. DOT. The partnership outgrew Oregon’s borders to welcome the University of Utah in 2012, adopting the NITC name, and again in 2013 with the addition of the University of South Florida. The NITC program continued its national expansion through the University of Arizona and the University of Texas at Arlington and in late 2016 successfully competed for five years of funding as one of five national centers in the U.S.
Our Team at Portland State University
TREC STAFF
Jennifer Dill, Ph.D.
Director
Professor, Nohad A. Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning
503-725-5173 | jdill@pdx.edu
https://jenniferdill.net/
Twitter | TREC Researcher Profile
Professor Jennifer Dill researches transportation decision-making processes and how those can inform policy and planning. Her recent projects focus on travel behavior, bicycling, shared mobility, transit-oriented developments, and health. She teaches courses on planning and research methods, as well as transportation. In addition to her Portland State University faculty role in the Toulan School, she serves as Director of the Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC) at PSU as well as Director of the U.S. DOT funded program National Institute for Transportation and Communities. Dr. Dill values the partnerships between PSU the community, and public agencies, both in her research and teaching. Prior to working at PSU, Dr. Dill held several positions working on air quality and transportation issues in California for governments and nonprofits. See her researcher profile here.
Hau Hagedorn
Associate Director
503-725-2833 | hagedorn@pdx.edu
Twitter | TREC Researcher Profile
Hau is the Associate Director of TREC at Portland State University and is responsible for the day-to-day management, operations and provides overall direction for the TREC's peer-reviewed research and technology transfer programs, and shaping workforce development efforts. She actively participates in national efforts on conducting and implementing research. She also oversees programming and delivery of professional development workshops through the Initiative for Bicycle and Pedestrian Innovation (IBPI). She is co-Chair of the TRB Conduct of Research Committee, Chair of the Oregon Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (OBPAC), and member of the Region 1 Area Commission on Transportation (R1ACT). Hau has over 20 years of public and private sector experience in transportation. In her spare time, she runs to escape juggling the busy lives of three active kids.
Lacey Friedly
Communications Coordinator
503-725-8545 | rlacey@pdx.edu
Lacey is the communications coordinator for TREC. She connects with researchers, writes articles, and documents (through pictures, videos, and model towns) the value of the transportation research being done at TREC and through the NITC program. Before TREC, Lacey was the acquisitions editor for Dark Discoveries magazine. She also managed the editing department at Ooligan Press, Portland State University's student-run publishing house. She graduated from PSU in 2013 with a master's in book publishing. In her spare time Lacey enjoys swimming, reading, and making stop-motion animation videos. she/her/hers
Tammy Lee, Ph.D.
Transportation Data Program Administrator
503-725-2884 | leetam@pdx.edu
Tammy is working on a variety of projects for TREC, including documentation, data synthesis, analysis, and visualization supporting ongoing work with PORTAL and Bike-Ped Portal. Tammy received a BS in Genetics & Plant Biology from UC Berkeley before earning a PhD in Environmental and Natural Resource Sciences from WSU. Prior to joining TREC she worked as a data scientist for a political digital media consulting firm. When not working she's either hiding in the forest or experimenting in the kitchen.
John MacArthur
Sustainable Transportation Program Manager
503-725-2866 | jhmacart@pdx.edu
Twitter | TREC Researcher Profile
Mr. MacArthur currently manages a complex Federal Transit Administration (FTA) grant to Develop and Test an Emergency Transportation Recovery Plan for the Portland, Oregon Region. This project requires close coordination and collaboration with a variety of public agency partners including city of Portland emergency management and transportation bureaus in addition to transit and other agencies critical to the region’s emergency transportation recovery efforts. In addition, this project is creating national training program that will be tested in six cities in early 2018. MacArthur is the Principal Investigator for TREC's electric bicycle research initiatives. His research also includes low-/no-emission vehicle infrastructure in Portland metro, as well as a climate change impact assessment for surface transportation in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. Before joining the TREC staff, John was the Context Sensitive and Sustainable Solutions Program Manager for the Oregon Department of Transportation’s OTIA III State Bridge Delivery Program.
Cait McCusker
Communications Director
Cait joined the TREC team in fall 2017 with an extensive background in event planning and strategic communications for green building policy and design. An avid biker and long-time volunteer with pedestrian advocacy group Oregon Walks, she is excited to tackle the dissemination of the center's progressive portfolio of transportation research on mobility. Storytelling is a critical piece to moving research from the theoretical realm to practical application, and Portland is the perfect landscape for this. Off-hours she spends her time with Tomato the Dog, tending to her 82 house plants, or advocating for more equitable infrastructure in Portland.
Theresa is the Office and Events Coordinator for TREC. She supports the day-to-day operations of the office, purchasing and finance tasks, hosting visiting scholars, and event planning for TREC events such as the Friday Transportation Seminars. Theresa has a bachelors in Cultural Anthropology and is working towards a Masters in Rehabilitation Counseling at PSU. Outside of work and school, she enjoys playing fetch with her cat, handbuilding ceramics, cooking, gardening, and bicycling.

Brendan is responsible for TREC’s day-to-day research project management and metrics tracking from inception to close-out. Also, he administers the competitive, peer-reviewed, project selection process including the annual Request for Proposal, Pooled Fund, small starts, and dissertation fellowships. Prior to this, he provided financial management and project coordination for Oregon State University’s Precollege Programs. Brendan enjoys playing soccer, going on long bike rides, traveling to other countries, or, most often, making pizza.
GRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANTS (2019-20)






PARTNERSHIPS

University Research Partners
The NITC program is a Portland State-led partnership with the University of Oregon, Oregon Institute of Technology, University of Utah and new partners University of Arizona and University of Texas at Arlington. Our university partners conduct research projects around our theme, and match money to each project.
Project Cosponsors
Dozens of partners, including universities, utilities, governments, businessess, and nonprofit organizations have supported NITC projects with cash matches or in-kind assistance.
CUTC
The NITC program is a member of the Council of University Transportation Centers. CUTC provides a forum for universities and centers to interact with government and industry.
Executive Committee
Arlie Adkins, PhD
Assistant Professor
School of Landscape Architecture and Planning
Email | Website | NITC Researcher Profile
Keith Bartholomew, JD
Associate Dean of Academic Affairs
College of Architecture + Planning
Email | Website | NITC Researcher Profile
Roger Lindgren, PE, P.Eng, PhD
Professor & Graduate Program Director
Civil Engineering Department
Oregon Institute of Technology
Email | Website | NITC Researcher Profile
Stephen P. Mattingly, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of Civil Engineering
University of Texas at Arlington
Email | Website | NITC Researcher Profile
Marc Schlossberg, PhD
Co-Director, Sustainable Cities Initiative (SCI)
Professor, Planning, Public Policy & Management (PPPM)
Email | Website | NITC Researcher Profile
Liming Wang, PhD
Associate Professor of Urban Studies and Planning
Nohad A. Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning
NITC Advisory Board
The NITC advisory board comprises transportation professionals from various regions and organizations throughout the United States whose role is to lend guidance in NITC's research, education and technology transfer programs.
Diana Alarcon, Director of Transportation, City of Tucson
Michael Baltes, Federal Transit Administration
Michael Bufalino, Research Section Manager, Oregon Department of Transportation
Wendy Cawley, Safety Engineer, City of Portland Bureau of Transportation
Jen Duthie, Division Manager, Arterial Management, City of Austin
Kate Fillin-Yeh, Director of Strategy, National Association of City Transportation Officials
Toshi Forrest, Program Manager, Moovel
Susan Handy, Director, National Center for Sustainable Transportation
Cameron Kergaye, Director, Planning, Utah Department of Transportation
Bill Keyrouze, Technical Programs Director, Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations
Ted Knowlton, Sustainability Director, Wasatch Front MPO
Brian Lagerberg, Director, Public Transportation Division, Washington State Department of Transportation
Alan Lehto, Director of Planning & Policy, TriMet
Ivan Marrero, Division Administrator, FHWA-Utah Division
Hugh Morris, National Association of Realtors
Gabe Rousseau, Safety Operations Team Leader, Federal Highway Administration
Brian Saelens, Principal Investigator, Seattle Children's Hospital
Tom Schwetz, Planning & Development Director, Lane Transit District
David Straus, Executive Director, Association for Commuter Transportation
Leah Riley, Managing Director, Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates
Yinhai Wang, Director, PacTrans
Wayne Kittelson, Senior Principal Engineer, Kittelson & Associates, Inc.
PROGRAM PROGRESS PERFORMANCE REPORTS
Written for our U.S. DOT grant reporting, our semi-annual Program Progress Performance Reports (PPPR) share the activities and impacts of the National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC) research consortium. We also maintain the annual reports from our predecessor grant OTREC.















































