Presentation Objectives

• EAR Program Background
   
• EAR Program Focus on Structural Maintenance
   
• Longer Term Vision

Focus Areas

• Connected highway and vehicle systems
   
• Breakthrough concepts in material science
   
• Human behavior and travel choices
   
• New technology and advanced policies for energy and resource conservation
   
• Technology for assessing performance Cross cutting
   
• Nanoscale research
   
• Information sciences

New Materials

• Potential for advances in
   
  • Reduced cracking
     
  • Increased corrosion resistance

Assessing Performance

• Demonstrated advances in
   
  • Application of new technology for sensor systems
     
  • Methods for signal analysis and predictive modeling

EAR Program Methods

• Focus on high-risk, high payoff research
   
• Merit review is used to enhance the quality of research processes and results
   
• Research stakeholders are involved throughout 
   
• Commitment to successful project handoff

Breadth with Depth

• All projects begin with initial stage investigations
   
  • Reference searches, scanning trips, convening workshops, etc.
     
• Assure leverage of the most recent, relevant and advanced research from all fields
   
• Not all initial stage investigations lead to (or are expected to lead to) follow-on or actionable results

Experts and Partners

• Experts and research stakeholders are involved throughout
   
  • From topic generation and scoping, through evaluation of proposals, ongoing research
     
• Stakeholders include
   
  • Academic
     
  • Government (federal, state, and local)
     
  • Industry (businesses, associations)
     
  • International

Project Handoff

• Continued Committment to projects transitioning out of Program
   
  • Focused outreach of project results
     
  • Meetings, demonstrations with potential new funders

EAR Program Payoff

• Encouraging original ideas
   
• Connecting with new partners
   
• Growing scientific capacity and pushing disciplinary frontiers
   
  • Building tools that accelerate discovery, allow for new measurements, concepts
     
• Pointing the way to new technology, applications

Longer-Term Impact

• New Materials
   
  • Faster, better, less expensive construction
     
  • Increased long-term durability

Longer-Term Impact

• Moving from assessing performance to controlling performance
   
  • At the material level, adaptive, multi-functionality, self-sensing, self-healing
     
  • At the structural level, self-sensing, predictive, resilient, evolving

Thank You

EAR Program website

David Kuehn
Program Manager
(202) 493-3414
david.kuehn@dot.gov