Alireza Khani joined the faculty of the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geo- Engineering (CEGE) this semester. Khani completed his Ph.D. at the University of Arizona in 2013 and has most recently been conducting research at the Network Modeling Center of the Center for Transportation Research, University of Texas at Austin. His research interests include the study and modeling of transportation networks and user behavior, intelligent transportation data analysis, public transit, and non-motorized travel. He shares his thoughts and interests below.
What sparked your interest in transportation?
My home city, Tehran, has grown rapidly in recent decades and developed modern transportation systems. When I was an undergraduate student, I realized that transportation engineering incorporates many of my interests: advanced mathematical modeling, urban planning, and modeling user behavior. I see many opportunities, both in academic research and real-world applications, in engineering areas related to transportation.
What are your chief research areas?
I am especially interested in modeling complex transportation systems. My studies have looked at green and sustainable transportation, specifically public transit and nonmotorized transportation.
I developed a transit assignment model for evaluating transit systems in large urban areas and making informed decisions on transit improvement projects. Assignment models help agencies and researchers analyze the routing of passengers in a transit network and simulate their movements. The model has been tested in a few cities so far—among them San Francisco, Austin, and Portland—and I am going to apply it next to the Twin Cities transit network.
What else excites you about your new role?
I look forward to teaching the smart students at the U of M. Teaching allows me to reevaluate my existing knowledge and move forward to new understandings. I chose to work in academia not only to teach students what I have learned, but also for the opportunities to learn new things in working with talented young people.
(Adapted from the CEGE Summer 2015 Update.)
