For more information, see the 

EAR Program website at https:// 

highways.dot.gov/research/

exploratory-advanced-research. The 

site features information on research 

solicitations, updates on ongoing research, 

links to published materials, summaries of 

past EAR Program events, and details on 

upcoming events.

To take advantage of a broad variety of 

scientific and engineering discoveries, the 

EAR Program involves both traditional 

stakeholders (State DOT researchers, 

University Transportation Center researchers, 

and TRB committee and panel members) and 

nontraditional stakeholders (investigators from 

private industry, related disciplines in academia, 

and research programs in other countries) 

throughout the research process. Since 2006, 

the EAR Program has involved stakeholders 

throughout the following program activities:

Identifying and evaluating topics. The EAR 

Program has identified and evaluated topics 

as part of meetings and scanning trips.

Reviewing proposals and projects. More 

than 250 experts have provided assessments 

of proposals, ongoing projects, or possible 

new topics. Most reviewers are from U.S. 

academic institutions, State and local DOTs, 

other Federal agencies, private companies, 

or foreign academic institutions.

Conducting research. The program has 

awarded 101 research projects on 57 

different topics between 2007 and 2021. 

The research awards include work by 

multidisciplinary teams at 80 academic 

institutions, 57 private companies, 13 State 

and local agencies, 10 Federal laboratories, 

and 10 foreign institutions.

GETTING INVOLVED WITH 

THE EAR PROGRAM

FHWA-HRT-22-006

HRTM-20/11-21(1M)E

Cover photos

 Left: © 2021 Louisiana Tech University.

Center: Source: FHWA.

Right: © Henry Samueli School of 

Engineering and Applied Science, 

University of California, Los Angeles.

Inside photo

Source: USDOT.

LEARN MORE

VISIT THE EAR PROGRAM 

WEBSITE @

HTTPS://HIGHWAYS.DOT.GOV/RESEARCH/

EXPLORATORY-ADVANCED-RESEARCH

The Development of a Transportation 

Research Informatics Platform” 

employed data-analytic methods 

developed for financial and commercial 

retail industries to integrate and 

analyze disparate data sources, such as 

traditional structured crash data, with 

social media and sensor data.

• Disseminating new findings. Each EAR 

Program-sponsored project includes a 

poststudy transition plan to disseminate 

new findings and pursue the potential 

for continued research. When a project’s 

findings suggest the value of further 

investigation, the EAR Program identifies 

appropriate activities to engage 

interested stakeholders who may want 

to continue the research. For example, 

promising new technologies developed 

in an EAR Program-sponsored project 

may spark interest among FHWA, State 

DOTs, Transportation Research Board 

(TRB) cooperative research programs, 

or private industry to conduct further 

applied research. Other research 

projects may lead to unexpected 

findings or clarification about questions 

and approaches, leading to further 

investigation under the EAR Program.

• Building research capacity. The EAR 

Program also creates value by increasing 

the research capacity of organizations 

and individuals. For example, the EAR 

Program supports the National Research 

Council Research Associateship Program, 

which provides postdoctoral and senior 

scientists and engineers with opportunities 

to research projects that complement 

ongoing EAR Program studies.

Recommended citation: Federal Highway Administration, 

Exploratory Advanced Research Program (Washington, DC: 2021) 

https://doi.org/10.21949/1521699.

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EAR PROGRAM FOCUS AREAS

The EAR Program funds research across 

a range of issues that are critical to the 

transportation industry:

• Connected highway and vehicle system 

concepts—Develop theory for and assess 

the feasibility of systems that leapfrog 

current technological approaches for linking 

infrastructure with future vehicle- and 

personal mobility technology.

• Breakthrough concepts in materials science—

Leverage new approaches to produce 

innovative materials that enhance highway 

infrastructure functionality, constructability, 

sustainability, and cost effectiveness.

• Human behavior and travel choices—

Leverage research concepts from the 

social sciences, including psychology and 

economics, along with more traditional 

transportation-related disciplines to improve 

safety, reduce congestion, and enhance the 

quality of life for communities throughout 

the United States.

• Technology for assessing performance—

Seek novel approaches and breakthrough 

technology that will revolutionize the 

use of performance management in the 

highway sector.

Exploratory advanced research focuses 

on longer term, higher risk research with 

tremendous potential for transformational 

improvements to plan, build, renew, 

and operate safe, congestion free, and 

environmentally sound transportation systems. 

Exploratory research matches opportunities 

from discoveries in science and technology 

with the needs of our Nation’s highway 

transportation system.

Organizations and researchers can face 

uncertainties in research approaches and 

outcomes. Those challenges can lead to 

innovative problem-solving and research 

techniques, instruments, and processes that 

can be of value to future advanced or applied 

research projects.

ABOUT EXPLORATORY 

ADVANCED RESEARCH

INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION

Access to international expertise is 

critical for the EAR Program. In some 

research areas, governments, industries, 

and universities in other parts of the world 

have developed important advances that could 

be applied to U.S. highway transportation.

The FHWA EAR Program engages international 

experts by sponsoring scanning tours, 

convening forums, inviting expert reviewers, 

offering postdoctoral research fellowships, and 

participating in international pool-funded (also 

known as common-pot) research programs.

EAR PROGRAM RESULTS

As a proponent of applying ideas across 

traditional research fields to stimulate new 

problem solving approaches, the EAR Program 

strives to develop partnerships with the public 

and private sector. Through 12 solicitations over 

the past decade, the EAR Program has awarded 

101 projects involving both government and 

academic researchers, 19 of which are ongoing. 

These projects represent the investment of 

$99 million in FHWA funds and leverage 

$28 million in matching funds.

The EAR Program bridges basic research1

(e.g., National Science Foundation grantfunded knowledge-driven academic work) 

and applied research2 (e.g., State department 

of transportation (DOT)-funded studies 

developing standards). Research may improve 

the understanding of phenomena that can 

accelerate or allow for new lines of applied 

research. For example, investigators for an 

EAR Program-funded project are studying 

methods for automating video data analysis 

that will provide researchers with new tools 

for understanding driver behavior in order 

to increase roadway safety and mobility.

In addition to sponsoring EAR Program 

projects that advance the development 

of highway infrastructure and operations, 

the EAR Program is committed to the 

following practices:

• Cross-fertilization. Research may 

include the application of scientific 

and technological discoveries in fields 

unrelated to transportation. For example, a 

project titled “Applications of Knowledge 

Discovery in Massive Transportation Data:

1

 Research that develops theoretical knowledge, methods, and 

 techniques in a field of science.

2 Research that applies theoretical knowledge, methods, and techniques 

 for a specific end goal or purpose.

• New technology and advanced policies 

for energy and resource conservation—

Cut across infrastructure, operations, 

and societal and complex natural systems 

to support innovative methods for 

reducing highway industry costs and 

improving sustainability.

Federal legislation established the 

Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) 

Exploratory Advanced Research (EAR) 

Program to support breakthrough research 

that has the potential for dramatic, long term 

improvements to transportation systems in 

planning, building, renewing, and operating 

safe, congestion-free, and environmentally 

sound transportation facilities. FHWA’s EAR 

Program secures broad scientific participation 

and extensive coverage of advanced ideas and 

new technologies through three key processes:

FHWA engages stakeholders throughout 

the EAR Program, from the evaluation 

of potential research topics through the 

transition of research results.

FHWA identifies and evaluates 

topics through extensive initial-stage 

investigations. The EAR Program has 

supported scanning trips and meetings 

involving hundreds of national and 

ABOUT THE FEDERAL HIGHWAY 

ADMINISTRATION’S EXPLORATORY 

ADVANCED RESEARCH PROGRAM

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international experts to ensure the use of 

the most recent advances in science and 

engineering in the EAR Program.

FHWA uses expert panels to ensure the 

technical quality of the research and accelerate 

the transition of the research results. The 

panels are composed of Federal, State, 

academic, and international scientific and 

engineering experts who are vetted to avoid 

conflicts of interest. The panels frequently 

include members from multiple disciplines 

to ensure that cross-applications and novel 

research approaches are fully assessed.

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