Cooperative Agreement FRRRD005413

Federal Cooperative Agreement Summary The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) awarded a $12.1 million Cooperative Agreement to the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen effective October 1, 2025, through October 31, 2027. This project delivers a comprehensive railway safety enhancement initiative focused on preventing train derailments caused by wheel and bearing failures. The recipient, in partnership with a technology provider, university railway center, and railway testing facility, will...

The Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities was awarded a $918,103 Project Grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Railroad Administration. The grant will fund the development of the Anderson Wheel Impact Load Detector (WILD) project from April 2021 through September 2022. The grant is being used to support the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements program (CFDA 20.325), which provides funding for projects that improve safety, efficiency,...

The Department of Transportation's Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) awarded a $11,580,640 Cooperative Agreement on May 3, 2024 to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) to establish the National University Rail Center of Excellence (NURAIL COE). The NURAIL COE will conduct basic and applied research, evaluation, education, workforce development, and technology transfer to improve the safety, efficiency, and reliability of passenger and freight rail transportation. Outcomes...

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) awarded a $2.425 million Project Grant to the Short Line Safety Institute (SLSI) under the Railroad Research and Development program (CFDA 20.313) beginning August 1, 2025, with completion targeted for January 31, 2029. This grant supports SLSI's implementation phase across four core pillars of activity: safety culture assessments, education and training, communications, and research initiatives. The funding directly advances FRA's mission to enhance...

Federal Project Grant Award Summary The National Academy of Sciences received a $500,000 Project Grant from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) under the Railroad Research and Development program (CFDA 20.313), effective September 1, 2025, through January 31, 2029. The award supports the administration and coordination of research activities conducted through the Keck Center of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, located at 500 Fifth Street NW in Washington,...

This Project Grant award, valued at $326,975, was provided by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation under the NSF Directorate for Engineering (CFDA 47.041) program. The primary grantee is the University of California Irvine (UC Irvine). The goal of this 3-year project is to investigate the structural, mechanical, and electronic coupling of van der Waals heterostructures to enable friction control at the nanoscale. The research aims to...

Federal Cooperative Agreement Award Summary The U.S. Department of Transportation's Office of Research, Development and Technology awarded a $7.5 million Cooperative Agreement to Rutgers University's Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation (CAIT) under the Research Initiative on the Use of Steel Slag in Concrete and Cement (CFDA 20.949). Effective August 11, 2025, through August 10, 2030, this five-year research initiative will establish and advance research on the properties,...

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation awarded a $350,000 project grant to the University of Illinois to investigate friction control in van der Waals heterostructures, two-dimensional layered materials. The objective is to establish an experimental and theoretical foundation for tuning the structural-mechanical-electronic properties of these materials to enable friction control at the nanoscale. The project will involve assembling van...

The Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration awarded $200,000 to the Executive Office of the Commonwealth of Kentucky on June 29, 2021 under the Highway Research and Development Program (CFDA 20.200). The funding supports an "Asphalt Balanced Mix Design-Friction Index Effort Study" to evaluate asphalt mix designs and surface friction in Kentucky. The Highway Research and Development Program aims to maintain and improve transportation infrastructure through...

This three-year $423,598 Project Grant from the National Science Foundation's Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) will fund research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison to develop a physics-based contact model for adhesion and friction in multiphasic soft materials swollen by liquids. The researchers will explore rate-dependent mechanisms governing adhesion and friction at interfaces of these materials and correct current contact formulations accordingly. They will derive and validate a unified...