Researchers at the University of New Orleans Transportation Institute received a $277,500 federal grant to continue its maritime and multimodal transportation research and education conducted through the Maritime Transportation Research and Education Center (MarTREC).

MarTREC is a U.S. Department of Transportation Tier 1 university transportation center that is recognized as the nation’s premier source for expertise on maritime and multimodal transportation.

UNO is part of a seven-university consortium that consists of renowned maritime transportation researchers dedicated to transferrable research, inclusive education and workforce development.

Bethany Stich, director of the University of New Orleans Transportation Institute, is UNO’s principal investigator of MarTREC.

Now in its sixth year with UNO, the grant has funded more than $1.4 million in research and education activities, Stich said.

Examples of some of the funded projects include an analysis of the economic development benefits of liquefied gas in the Gulf Coast region, the impact of trade policies on the transportation infrastructure of the Gulf Coast and the development of a master of science in transportation degree program.

Additionally, nine MarTREC supported UNO students have won U.S. Department of Transportation sponsored awards including the prestigious Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship, the Council of University Transportation Center Graduate Student of the Year and the Charley V. Wootan Memorial Dissertation Award.