Title: Environmental Transportation Technology In response to environmental concerns and nation's dependence on foreign produced oil, government mandates have forced the transportation industry to identify, develop, and employ alternatives to the internal combustion engine. At the same time, the development of new fuels and technologies has outpaced the supply of adequately educated technicians to satisfy industry demand. Traditionally, transportation technicians have been trained in short term programs, but these programs are no longer adequate since the new technologies require a different core of knowledge. This project is developing a new 11 - 14 program leading to as associate degree in environmental transportation technology with particular emphasis on new curriculum in technical areas in gaseous fuels technology combined with a broad general education component in science, information science, communications, mathematics, and applied physics. Participating directly with College of the Desert to create and test this new program are three other community colleges in California (San Diego Mirimar, Alameda, and Rio Hondo). These institutions are joined in this effort by five other California community colleges who form the Advanced Transportation Technology Initiative, the Desert Tech Prep Consortium, the American Society of Advanced Fuels Technology, and numerous industrial and government partners. Workshops for two-year college faculty and secondary school teachers are being conducted to develop expertise in this new curriculum.
