Driving the Ambitious $30M Plan for an Autonomous Vehicle Test Track and Research Center

Innovation and the automobile industry are on the move at UConn -- after four years of planning, coordinating, and developing, a major project is moving closer to reality in Connecticut:

UConn’s Board of Trustees recently approved an option agreement to sell 105 acres in the southwest portion of the school’s Mansfield Depot Campus to a private company — Promesa Capital LLC — headed by Cortese, who would lead a group of investors in developing the site as the region’s first-ever connected and autonomous vehicle test track and research facility.

Such a facility, Jackson and Cortese said, would be a boon for the university and region, helping make UConn a leader in autonomous vehicle research, technology and safety.

“My goal is to raise the stature of UConn to a school where world-class research takes place on this technology, and students come to UConn specifically to work with leading faculty on projects that will change the way we travel,” Jackson said. “UConn will be transformational in terms of research and will provide a world-class facility to open opportunities we’ve never had before for the future of transportation.”  August 15 - Hartford Business Journal

The endeavor has the potential for lasting positive impact in areas including innovation, research, investment, and the economy, and Eric Jackson -- director of the Connecticut Transportation Safety Research Center at UConn -- is at the forefront of this exciting development. 

If you are a journalist looking to know more, let us help. Simply click on Jackson’s icon to arrange an interview today.