NC State University has agreed to partner with the University of Maryland (lead) and five other universities in forming a National Center on Economic Competitiveness. Each partner university has been allocated a base budget to carry out a research, education and technology transfer programs either individually, or in collaboration with other partner universities. Additionally, about 10% of the National UTC funds (not included in the base budget) will be used to fund only collaborative projects. The three key areas covered under this agreement include freight and logistics, highway congestion and high speed rail. The budget, and the faculty and staff involved in this initiative have been selected because of their expertise in those areas. It is expected that the base budget will cover two research projects and one educational project for each of the year of the UTC grant. One research project will be in the freight/ logistics area and the second on highway congestion mitigation.