New Electrified Transportation Research Center Opens at USU

A first-of-its-kind transportation research center is opening its doors for business on the Utah State University campus. SELECT, the Sustainable Electrified Transportation Center, brings electrified transportation industry members and leading engineering researchers together to develop holistic solutions to global electrified transportation.

SELECT Quick Facts:

SELECT (Sustainable Electrified Transportation Center) is a new multi-university research center located at USU’s Electric Vehicle & Roadway Research Facility and Test Track on the USU Innovation Campus in North Logan, Utah.

Partners include USU, Purdue, University of Colorado Boulder, Olin College and the University of Colorado Colorado Springs.
Paid membership gives industry members access to leading expertise of university faculty, first look at new technologies and teaming opportunities to transition technologies to the marketplace.
To date, more than 40 organizations and state and federal agencies have committed to membership or are attending the center’s first annual meeting to explore membership.

The center is comprised of university partners USU, Purdue University, University of Colorado Boulder, Olin College and the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. Members of the center represent a range of industries and sectors, including automotive manufacturers, electronics and automotive component manufacturers, transportation agencies, national laboratories, infrastructure developers, military and government agencies. To date, more than 40 organizations and state and federal agencies have committed to membership or are attending the center’s first meeting to explore membership.

The center’s hub is located at USU’s Electric Vehicle & Roadway (EVR) Research Facility and Test Track on Utah State University’s Innovation Campus.

Center Director Regan Zane, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at USU, says the center will usher in strategic advancements in power electronics, roadway infrastructure and vehicle autonomy toward the goal of sustainable electrified transportation in cities and highways.

“In this emerging and complicated realm of electrified and autonomous transportation, we see a tremendous need to pull together the experts and stakeholders who will help create the standards and technologies that will make electric, automated road transportation a safe and sustainable reality,” said Zane.

The purpose of SELECT is to facilitate collaboration among members and to streamline the process of getting new technology to the marketplace. Paid membership gives members access to SELECT resources, including the expertise of university faculty, first look at new technologies, teaming opportunities to transition technologies and visibility with experienced students across all campuses.

A battery manufacturer, for example, could present a challenge or new idea to SELECT and get the added benefits of multi-university collaboration and industry perspective to help turn ideas into market-ready solutions.

SELECT officially opens with its inaugural Annual Meeting and Technology Showcase — a meeting for center partners and members Sept. 26-28 on the USU Logan campus. Information about the SELECT annual meeting is online.

Related links:

IMAGE & VIDEO LIBRARY
“USU unveils nation's first self-driving, wireless charging bus,” KUTV, channel 2, Sept. 27, 2016
'A holistic effort': USU brings stakeholders together in new electric vehicle partnership, The Herald Journal, Sept. 27, 2016
USU Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
USU College of Engineering

SELECT Contacts:

Dr. Regan Zane, director, SELECT | Utah State University College of Engineering | Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering | 435-797-4949 | regan.zane@usu.edu

Dr. David Christensen, executive director, SELECT | Utah State University | 435-797-9619 | david.christensen@usu.edu

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