Two new Memphis-based research groups aimed at improving intermodal freight transportation got a boost in August with a $100,000 donation from The DeHart Group. The DeHart Group is transportation and services company, also based in Memphis, whose history dates back to 1884.
The donation will help support the University of Memphis' Center for Intermodal Freight Transportation Studies (CIFTS) and Center for Advanced Intermodal Technologies (CAIT). Both groups were formed earlier this year with $7m in federal funds, earmarked for this purpose in the 2005 highway funding bill. Dr. Martin Lipinski, a U of M civil engineering professor, heads up the programs.
Lipinski said the centers were looking for corporate sponsorship and matching dollars while DeHart president and CEO Tom DeHart, a U of M graduate, was looking to establish a transportation fund.
Money from the DeHart fund will be targeted for specific tasks, although those are not yet determined, Lipinski said. He added that DeHart has asked the centers to research specific transportation areas in which the company operates and noted that DeHart will offer expertise on radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, one of its areas of specialization.
"We think it's a great partnership," said DeHart marketing director Chris DeHart. "We wanted to give back to the university. And because Memphis has always been connected with transportation, logistics and distribution, we're trying to expand on that into the future."
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