Request for Proposals

Date Issued	1/20/2025
Fiscal year	2025-2026
Proposal format	Appendix D
Questions	Online form or LIUY11@erau.edu
Pre-proposal submission deadline	2/20/2025
Pre-proposal submission form	Online form or LIUY11@erau.edu
Proposal submission deadline	3/31/2025
Proposal submission form	Online form or LIUY11@erau.edu
Final decisions	5/30/2025

Overview

The Transportation Cybersecurity Center for Advanced Research and Education (CYBER-CARE), funded by the US Department of Transportation (DOT) as a Tier 1 University Transportation Center (UTC) is seeking proposals focused on cybersecurity for transportation systems. Proposals should have a duration of one year or two years and total expenses are up to $20,000 to $90,000 per year depending on the type of proposal and funding availability (see details below). Please refer to Section 3 for eligibility.

CYBER-CARE addresses the DOT statutory research priority area of “Reducing Transportation Cybersecurity Risks.” Cyberattacks are constantly expanding alongside modern transportation infrastructure's increasing communications and computing capabilities, such as intelligent transportation systems (ITS) and advanced traffic management systems (ATMS). Future connected and automated vehicle (CAV) systems must be fully protected against such attacks. Cybersecurity and risk management represent core elements of CAV systems design, and reducing cybersecurity risks remains a crucial goal, as security breaches or software/sensor/network failures can have significant consequences for cyber-physical systems. Reducing cybersecurity risks will both enhance the safety and privacy of users within digital communication channels and increase society’s acceptance of novel technologies. CYBER-CARE aims to uncover ways to mitigate the road traffic safety impacts due to cybersecurity attacks on transportation infrastructure and CAV systems.

Topics of interest

CYBER-CARE’s mission is to develop the world’s leading innovative, healthy, sustainable, and intelligent transportation cybersecurity system and protect the American people, supply chains, public transit systems, and the economy through the safe, resilient, and sustainable movement of people and goods. The research topics of interest to the center are the following:

1. Connected and Automated Vehicle (CAV) cybersecurity

CAV cybersecurity research is a key component of the USDOT ITS research program. CYBER-CARE will fund research towards approaches to ensure future CAV safety in cyber environments.

2. Transportation data cybersecurity

Given the key role of data in transportation communications with inadequate cybersecurity detection, CYBER-CARE will fund research that addresses the challenging problem of identifying cyberattacks via big data analysis.

3. Advanced traffic management system (ATMS) cybersecurity

In highly dynamic, wide-area traffic scenarios, e.g., in Advanced Traffic Management Systems (ATMS), centralized communication frameworks are insufficient. CYBER-CARE will fund research on decentralized communication frameworks and future transportation solutions to ensure participants’ security and safety.

4. Next-generation transportation cybersecurity system

Protecting next-generation transportation cybersecurity systems is a complex task due to their reliance on multiple sub-systems, including sensors, weather stations, and smart vehicle networks. CYBER-CARE will fund research that addresses this problem and enables reliable, next-generation transportation cybersecurity systems.

Types of Proposals