Lab Director Heading link
Abolfazl (Kouros) Mohammadian, PhD
Bio:
Abolfazl (Kouros) Mohammadian is a professor of transportation systems and head of the Department of Civil and Materials Engineering. He received his Ph.D. from University of Toronto in 2002 and has been at UIC since 2003. His research covers various areas of transportation systems including travel behavior analysis, travel surveys, computational analysis of transportation systems, freight and logistics modeling, and agent-based microsimulation models. He has authored or co-authored more than 350 scholarly publications in scientific journals, conference proceedings, book chapters, and reports. He is a co-editor-in-chief of the Journal of Transportation Letters and has served as committee chair of the Traveler Behavior and Values committee (AEP30) of the National Academies’ Transportation Research Board. He has advised 25 PhD students.
Current PhD students: Heading link
Sina Asgharpour (2021 – present)
Bio:
Sina is a Ph.D. student and Graduate Research Assistant at the Department of Civil, Materials, and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). He earned his Master of Science degree in Transportation Planning and Engineering from Sharif University of Technology, Iran, in 2019. Sina possesses a broad array of research interests spanning several areas of transportation engineering, including equity in transportation systems and services, transportation demand modeling, travel behavior analysis, micromobility, active transportation, transportation safety, and emerging transportation services.
His expertise primarily lies in econometric analysis, spatial analysis, machine learning techniques, and data-driven analysis. Currently, Sina is engaged in several research initiatives exploring critical aspects of transportation. These projects include identifying disparities in access to and usage of transportation services in the northeastern Illinois region, assessing the suitability of transportation systems for special groups such as the elderly, and developing a comprehensive framework to understand vehicle choice behavior. This framework encompasses traditional, electric, and autonomous vehicles, examining their association with significant life events.
Current PhD students: Heading link
Sadjad Bazarnovi (2022 – present)
Bio:
Sadjad is a PhD student and a graduate research assistant in the Department of Civil, Materials, and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). He earned his Master of Science degree in Transportation Planning Engineering from the Sharif University of Technology (SUT) in 2021.
Sadjad’s research interests span a wide range of topics within transportation engineering, including travel behavior after adopting Connected & Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs), analyzing charging behavior among Electric Vehicle (EV) users, and the Environmental Impacts of Transportation Modes. He employs Operations Research (OR), Machine Learning, and Statistical methods to address complex challenges in transportation modeling.
Currently, Sadjad is engaged in a project collaborating with Argonne National Laboratory focused on optimizing the location and allocation of Battery Electric Bus (BEB) charging stations, aiming to enhance the efficiency and sustainability of urban transportation systems.
Former post-doctoral fellows: Heading link
- Amir Samimi, PhD
Research: Behavioral Freight Modeling
Duration: March 2010 – August 2010
Current position: TBD - Taha Hossein Rashidi, PhD
Research: Data Transferability/Residential Location Choice Behavior
Duration: May 2011 – July 2011
Current position: Associate Professor, University of New South Wales, Australia - Joshua Auld, PhD
Research: Demand Modeling for High Speed Rail / IL Statewide Model
Duration: July 2011 – June 2015
Current position: Research Scientist, Argonne National Lab - Behnam Amini, PhD
Research: Agent-Based Simulation
Duration: August 2013 – August 2014
Current position: Assistant Professor, IKIU, Iran - Behzad Karimi Varzardoliya, PhD
Research: Long Distance Travel Demand
Duration: Jan 2015 – May 2015
Current position: WSP - Ramin Shabanpour, PhD
Research: Activity-based Modeling, Autonomous Vehicle
Duration: May 2018 – August 2020
Current position: University of Pittsburgh - Ehsan Rahimi, PhD
Research: Innovative Models for New Mobility Options
Duration: August 2021 – August 2022
Current position: United Airlines
Former PhD students: Heading link
- Sadayuki Yagi, PhD
Thesis title: An Activity-Based Microsimulation Model of Travel Demand for Transportation Policy and Impact Analysis, Completed: September 2006.
Current position: Transportation Consultant, Tokyo, Japan. - Yong-Ping Zhang, PhD
Thesis title: Household Travel Data Simulation: Applications of Spatial Transferability of Survey Data, Completed: October 2007.
Current position: Assistant Professor, California State University, Pomona, CA. - Peng (Richard) Fan, PhD (co-advised with Peter Nelson, CS Department)
Thesis title: Design and Analysis of Clustering Frameworks in Vehicular Ad-hoc Networks. Completed: November 2007
Current position: Facebook - Amir Samimi, PhD
Thesis title: A Behavioral Mode Choice Microsimulation Model for Freight Transportation in the U.S. Completed: March 2010
Current position: TBD - Chad Williams, PhD (co-advised with Peter Nelson, CS Department)
Thesis title: A Data Mining Approach to Rapidly Learning Traveler Activity Patterns for Mobile Applications. Completed: March 2010
Current position: Assistant Professor, Central Connecticut State University - Taha Hossein Rashidi, PhD
Thesis Title: Households Long-Term Decision Making Process: vehicle Transactions, Employment, and Residential Location Choices. Completed: August 2010
Current position: Associate Professor, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia - Joshua Auld, PhD
Thesis Title: Agent-based Dynamic Activity Planning and Travel Scheduling Model: Data Collection and Model Development. Completed: July 2011
Current position: Principal Computational Transportation Engineer, Argonne National Lab & Research Assistant Professor, UIC - James Haran, PhD (co-advised with Peter Nelson, CS Department)
Thesis Title: Vehicular Ad Hoc Network Microsimulation System for Modeling Transportation, Wireless, and Traveler Behavior. Completed: October 2011
Current position: Vice President, Trustwave - Zahra Pourabdollahi, PhD
Thesis Title: An Agent-Based Freight Transportation Modeling Framework, Completed: Nov. 2014
Current position: Transportation Consultant, RS&H, Tampa, FL - Behzad Karimi Varzardoliya, PhD
Thesis Title: Generation Gaps in Activity and Travel Behavior, Completed: Jan. 2015
Current position: Transportation Consultant, WSP USA, Miami/Fort Lauderdale Area - Mehran Fasihozaman Langerudi, PhD
Thesis Title: Incorporating In-Home Activities into an Agent-Based Dynamic Activity Planning and Travel Simulation Model, Completed: September 2015.
Current Position: Research Scientist at 84.51˚, Chicago, IL - Sanghyeon Ko, PhD
Thesis Title: Analysis of Containerized Freight Shipments into the U.S. -Port Choice and Inland Optimization, Completed: December 2015.
Current Position: Transportation Engineer, Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, Washington, D.C. - Seyed Mehdi Mahmoudifard, PhD
Thesis title: Travel Behavior Analysis of Agricultural Commodities in a Freight Activity Microsimulation Framework, Completed: December 2016
Current Position: Lead Data Scientist at Accenture, Chicago, IL - Ramin Shabanpour, PhD
Thesis title: Adoption Behavior of Privately Owned Autonomous Vehicles, Completed: May 2018
Current Position: Assistant Professor, University of Pittsburgh - Nima Golshani, PhD
Thesis title: Evacuation Behavior during No-Notice Emergency Events, Completed: May 2018
Current Position: Research Scientist, Georgia Institute of Technology - Fatemeh (Nooshin) Nazari, PhD
Thesis Title: Modeling travel behavior with the advent of electric and autonomous vehicle technologies, Completed: May 2019
Current Position: Assistant Professor, University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley - Monique Anne Stinson, PhD
Thesis Title: Strategic Decisions in Agent-Based Freight Transportation Models: Methods and Data, Completed: August 2020
Current Position: Freight Estimation, Forecasting and Analysis Manager, Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) - Homa Taghipour, PhD
Thesis Title: Traffic Condition Assessment: Integrated Dynamic Travel Time Prediction and Accident Detection Models, Completed: August 2020
Current Position: Senior Data Engineer, CCC Intelligent Solutions - Ali Shamshiripour, PhD
Thesis Title: Citizen-Centric Smart Cities: Planning for Travel Behavior in a Technology-dominated Future, Completed: December 2020
Current Position: Assistant Professor, The University of Arizona - Ehsan Rahimi, PhD
Thesis Title: Transportation Resilience: Behavioral Impact Analysis of Disruptions and Pandemic on Public Transit, Completed: December 2020
Current Position: Senior Analyst, United Airlines - Amir Bahador Parsa, PhD
Thesis Title: Traffic Modeling and Management, Innovative Data and Methods, Completed: April 2022
Current Position: Senior Data Engineer, CCC Intelligent Solutions - Ahmad Nafakh, PhD
Thesis Title: Examining the Impacts of the Pandemic on Vulnerable Population Groups, Completed: July 2023
Current Position: Senior Project Manager, Illinois Tollway - MohammadJavad Javadinasr, PhD
Thesis Title: Sustainable Integration of Micromobility as a Solo Travel Mode and Complementary to Transit, Completed: April, 2024
Current Position: Transportation Consultant - Amir Davatgari, PhD
Thesis Title: Medium-duty Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Planning and Operations in Urban Transportation Networks, Completed: April, 2024
Current Position: Data Scientist, Starbucks - Motahare (Yalda) Mohammadi, PhD
Thesis Title: Examining the persistence of telecommuting after the COVID-19 pandemic, Completed: September, 2024
Current Position: TBD
Former M.S. students: Heading link
- Hassan Dastgir
Project topic: Non-Stop Mass Transit System: Feasibility and Preliminary Design. Completed: Spring 2005.
Current position: Transportation Engineer, US Department of Transportation, Washington, D.C. - Karen Schweiss
Thesis title: A Microsimulation Model of The Alinea On-Ramp Control Algorithm using VISSIM. Completed: October 2005.
Current position: Adjunct Faculty, College of Lake County, IL - Saurav Chakrabarti
Thesis title: Coordinated Strategies for Corridor Operations Management. Completed: February 2006.
Current position: Senior ITS Specialist, Siemens, Pasadena, CA - Todd Bapton
Thesis title: Calibration of Advanced Transportation Management System. Completed: March 2007.
Current position: Transportation Engineer, Chicago Transit Authority, Chicago, IL - Tom Brecheisen
Research topic: Ramp Metering Revisited. Completed: May 2008
Current position: Professional Environmental Engineer, Kowalenko Consulting Group, Chicago, IL - Mahmoud Javanmardi
Thesis title: Application of Data Transferability in Examining Travel Behavior due to Changes in Life-Style. Completed: September 2009,
Current Position: Department of Energy, Washington DC - Martina Zuchetti Frignani
Thesis Title: A Two-Week Prompted Recall Internet-Based Survey of Activity-Travel Patterns: Observations on the Elderly. Completed: January 2010,
Current Position: Current Position: Sr Civil Engineer at San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART), CA - Roozbeh Shirani
Thesis Title: Bus on Shoulder in Illinois. Completed: April 2011,
Current Position: Transportation Engineer, Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) - Zohreh Ghasemi
Research topic: Population Synthesize. Graduated: December 2011,
Current Position: Transportation Engineer, URS - Karl Strum
Research topic: Behavioral Influences in Route Choice: Impacts of Driver’s Preference and Demographics on Route Choice. Graduated: December 2013,
Current Position: Transportation Engineer, DAMA Consulting, Chicago, IL - Fadhel Abbas (University of Technology, Baghdad, Iraq)
Thesis Title: Calibrating Highway Speed-Density Functions. Graduated: July 2015,
Current Position: Transportation Engineer, Iraq - Seyedeh Maryam Niakian
Thesis Title: How Supply Chain Attributes Influence Freight Trip Generation Estimation. Graduate: May 2017
Current Position: Senior Logistics Analyst, Chervon North America - Daniel Johnson
Thesis Title: A Synthesis of US Glare Screen Warrants and Design Requirements with Model Warrants and Design Guide. Graduated October 2017,
Current Position: Federal Highways - Ahmad Nafakh
Thesis Title: Spatial Assessment of Walkability Index – A case Study in Chicago. Graduated August 2018
Current Position: Senior Project Manager, Illinois Tollway - Saud Al Fadhili
Thesis Title: Analysis of People’s Preference on the Adoption and Use of New Mobility Technologies. Graduated January 2020
Current Position: TBD