OTREC has announced eight winners of the “Small Starts” grant program, which launched last December. These grants, made available through a new OTREC initiative, were intended to fund small projects related to transportation and community development. Any eligible professor at Portland State University, Oregon State University, the University of Oregon, or the Oregon Institute of Technology was invited to apply for a grant.

Priority was given to tenure-track faculty who are untenured, and faculty who have not received an OTREC grant in the past. The Small Starts program was conceived for the benefit of researchers who want the chance to undertake a small project that supports innovations in sustainable transportation through advanced technology, integration of land use and transportation, and healthy communities.

A total of $60,000 was available to be awarded; with no individual award larger than $10,000.

Interested faculty turned in their proposals by January 31, 2013. Here are the winners:

• Burkan Isgor, Oregon State University:

“Cracking Susceptibility of Concrete Made with Recycled Concrete Aggregates”

• Donald Truxillo, Portland State University, partnered with ODOT:

“Evaluation of ODOT's Ecodriving Program”

• Bob Bass, Portland State University, partnered with Drive Oregon:

“Impacts of Electric Vehicle Charging on Electric Power Distribution Systems “

• Nancy Cheng, University of Oregon, partnered with Metro:

“Data Driven Illustrations for Climate-Smart Communities Scenarios”

• Maura Kelly, Portland State Univeristy, partnered with ODOT:

“Evaluation of the Effect of Supportive Services on the Success of Apprentices in a Highway Trade”

• Deni Ruggeri, University of Oregon:

“From Transit Stop to Urbanity Node. A study of Perceived Livability, Access, Safety and Socialization at the Transit Stop”

• Julia Zhang, Oregon State University, partnered with Drive Oregon:

“DC Link Capacitor Size Reduction of Traction Power Converter for FHEV/PHEV/BEV Applications”

• Andree Tremoulet, Portland State University:

“Addressing Homeless Encampments on Public Right-of-Way: A Knowledge Transfer Project”