Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is hosting the 2018 Volvo Research and Educational Foundations (VREF) Advanced Studies Institute on Sustainable Urban Freight Systems (VASI-SUFS) Aug. 4-11. The VASI-SUFS will bring together a select group of junior faculty, post-docs, and advanced Ph.D. students who are conducting research on sustainable urban freight systems. The main goal is to develop a new generation of researchers and practitioners with a holistic view of urban freight systems issues and their solutions that, ultimately, will bring about new paradigms of freight transportation research, education, and practice that foster sustainable urban freight systems (UFS). 

The VASI-SUFS is organized and supported by the Rensselaer VREF Center of Excellence for Sustainable Urban Freight Systems; University of Southern California -MetroFreight/VREF; University of Gothenburg – Urban Freight Platform; and the Volvo Research and Educational Foundations.

The main objective of the program is to provide advanced graduate students, post-docs, and junior faculty with the opportunity to interact with senior researchers, and learn first-hand how researchers from other countries approach UFS research (methods, data, research results, and new topic areas).

“It is our hope that the participants will walk away with a solid understanding of the interplay between UFS, the environment, the economy, and its role in the betterment of local communities,” said Jose Holguin-Veras, conference organizer and the William H. Hart Professor and director of the VREF Center of Excellence for Sustainable Urban Freight Systems at Rensselaer.

There are currently 65 researchers from 20 different countries registered to attend. To learn more about the program, visit https://coe-sufs.org/wordpress/2018/02/vasi-sufs/.