Early experiences with "telecenters" in the United States and Japan suggest that some deeply entrenched cultural hurdles need to be overcome before the concept catches on with enough people to improve air quality and reduce traffic congestion, according to a UC Davis researcher who recently visited three of Japan's telecommuting centers. A telecenter, or telecommuting center, offers people a place to work closer to home than the primary office. They are still in an experimental phase. In a review funded by her Japanese hosts, assistant professor Patricia Mokhtarian found a small but committed group of people in Japan who believe telecommuting could improve the quality of life for workers, as well as interest from the private sector in enhancing profits through telecenters. Since the first U.S. telecommuting center opened in Hawaii in 1989, a few other telecenters have sprung up in Puget Sound and Southern California. More telecenters are planned in the San Francisco Bay Area and in Maryland, Colorado, Kentucky and elsewhere in the United States and abroad. Mokhtarian herself is directing a $2 million program funded by the California Department of Transportation to implement and evaluate up to 12 new telecenters throughout the state in what is believed to be the largest program of its kind. Mokhtarian will discuss her findings in session No. 200A, at 2:30 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 13, at the Hilton.