Funder: NRC Research Associateship Programs
Due Dates: May 1, 2025 | August 1, 2025 | November 1, 2025 | February 1, 2026
Funding Amounts: Base stipend approximately $80,000 per year plus $4,000 travel allowance; stipend increases with experience; typical fellowship duration 2-3 years.
Summary: Fellowship opportunity to conduct research using SHRP 2 Naturalistic Driving Study (NDS) and Roadway Information Dataset (RID) data to analyze highway safety and operations, aiming to develop improved safety countermeasures.
Key Information: Open to postdoctoral and senior researchers; U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and non-U.S. citizens eligible; research conducted onsite at FHWA Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center in McLean, VA.
Description
This fellowship supports research using data from the second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2), which conducted the largest naturalistic driving study (NDS) globally to better understand factors involved in highway crashes. The SHRP 2 Roadway Information Dataset (RID) is a geospatial database providing contextual roadway information linked to the NDS trips.
Researchers will analyze these datasets to uncover how interactions among drivers, vehicles, traffic, environmental conditions, and infrastructure contribute to safety and operational events on highways. The goal is to develop better countermeasures to save lives, reduce injury severity, and improve traffic efficiency.
Key datasets include:
- NDS Dataset: Detailed driving data from over 3,400 participants across six U.S. sites, covering approximately 5.4 million trips, including 1,400+ crashes and nearly 3,000 near-crashes.
- Roadway Information Database (RID): Geospatial data providing roadway features, traffic volumes, crash histories, and weather context.
Additional datasets such as the National Performance Management Research Data Set (NPMRDS) and Highway Safety Information System (HSIS) can be integrated with SHRP 2 data.
Research topics may include:
- Applying conventional and emerging analytics to understand human behavior in safety and operations events (e.g., crashes, near-crashes, lane changes).
- Investigating factors influencing crash severity (roadway features, speed, seat belt use).
- Developing data mining and predictive models for safety outcomes.
- Studying effects of Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs) and Advanced Driving Assistance Systems (ADAS).
- Evaluating traffic management techniques like Variable Speed Limits (VSL) and Dynamic Message Signs (DMS).
Applicants with expertise in big data analytics, geospatial analysis, AI, machine learning, and statistical programming (R, SAS, Python, Matlab, ArcGIS) are encouraged to apply.
The fellowship is hosted at the Federal Highway Administration's Safety Training and Analysis Center (STAC) within the Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center in McLean, VA.
Due Dates
- May 1, 2025 (next upcoming deadline)
- August 1, 2025
- November 1, 2025
- February 1, 2026
Deadlines are at 5 PM ET. If a deadline falls on a weekend or federal holiday, it moves to the next business day.
Funding Amount
- Base stipend: $80,000 per year
- Travel allowance: $4,000 annually
- Stipend increases with years of experience beyond PhD
- Typical fellowship duration: 2-3 years
- Additional benefits include relocation assistance (if relocating over 50 miles) and access to group health insurance for awardees and dependents in the U.S.
Eligibility
- Applicants must have a doctoral degree (Ph.D., Sc.D., M.D., D.V.M., or equivalent) before starting tenure.
- Open to postdoctoral researchers (doctoral degree earned less than 5 years ago) and senior researchers (doctoral degree earned 5+ years ago or permanent appointment with significant research experience).
- U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and non-U.S. citizens are eligible; citizenship requirements vary by sponsoring agency.
- Applicants with current or recent prior affiliation/employment at the sponsoring agency or contractor may be ineligible.
- Applicants must conduct research onsite at the FHWA Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center in McLean, VA.
Application Process
- Identify the research opportunity and contact the listed Research Adviser(s) to discuss your research proposal and funding availability.
- Prepare application materials including:
- Profile information (contact, education, transcripts for postdocs)
- Research proposal (max 10 pages) detailing problem statement, background, methodology, expected results, and significance
- Letters of recommendation (minimum 3, including dissertation adviser for postdocs)
- Submit application via the NRC Research Associateship Programs online portal before the deadline.
- Letters of recommendation must be uploaded by letter writers through the online system by the deadline.
- Applications are reviewed by expert panels; scoring is on a 100-point scale with 70+ recommended for award.
- Applicants receive reviewer feedback approximately one week after review finalization.
Additional Information
- Awardees collaborate closely with FHWA staff at the Safety Training and Analysis Center.
- Experience with SHRP 2 datasets and advanced analytics is highly desirable.
- The program offers professional development, mentorship, and access to state-of-the-art facilities.
- Relocation and health insurance benefits are provided.
- Applicants should review detailed eligibility and application instructions on the NRC RAP website.
- Prior affiliation with the agency or contractor may affect eligibility; contact the Fellowships Office for clarification.
External Links
Contact Information
For general questions about the NRC Research Associateship Programs, contact the Fellowships Office at rap@nas.edu or call 202-334-2760.