The Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS) celebrated the research achievements of graduating doctoral candidates at a special Ph.D. Transportation Seminar on Friday, May 2. The event featured presentations from four scholars whose work spans transportation engineering, planning, climate resilience, automation, and mobility equity.

Ph.D. Student, Civil & Environmental Engineering
Advised by CEE Professor Susan Shaheen
Talk: Can Electric Vehicle Carsharing Improve Grocery Access in Underserved Communities? A Case Study of BlueLA

Ziad Yassine’s dissertation explores the potential of one-way electric vehicle (EV) carsharing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while advancing mobility equity. Focusing on BlueLA, an income-tiered electric vehicle (EV) carsharing program in Los Angeles, his research examines whether such services can improve access to essential destinations—specifically, grocery stores—in underserved communities.

By integrating spatial-temporal accessibility modeling with user survey data, Ziad evaluates how well EV carsharing bridges transportation-related food access gaps. His findings provide new insights into the equity outcomes of sustainable mobility programs and highlight the importance of aligning transportation innovations with community needs.

The Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS) celebrated the research achievements of graduating doctoral candidates at a special Ph.D. Transportation Seminar on Friday, May 2. The event featured presentations from four scholars whose work spans transportation engineering, planning, climate resilience, automation, and mobility equity.

Ph.D. Student, Civil & Environmental Engineering, Class of 2025
Advised by CEE Assistant Professor Maria Laura Dell Monache
Talk: From Connected to Coordinated – Distributed Intelligence and Centralized Coordination for Connected Autonomous Vehicles

Han Wang’s dissertation explores how connected autonomous vehicles (CAVs) can evolve from isolated, connected agents into a coordinated system that improves traffic performance and safety. His work draws from the CIRCLES project, the world’s largest open-road CAV field test, where he led the development of real-time speed optimization for 100 vehicles on the I-24 MOTION testbed.

By integrating reinforcement learning and real-time control strategies, Han demonstrates how even modest AV adoption can yield meaningful gains in traffic efficiency. His research addresses critical challenges in multi-agent coordination, human-CAV interactions, and scalable deployment, contributing to the broader goal of building smarter, more adaptive transportation systems.

The Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS) celebrated the research achievements of graduating doctoral candidates at a special Ph.D. Transportation Seminar on Friday, May 2. The event featured presentations from four scholars whose work spans transportation engineering, planning, climate resilience, automation, and mobility equity.

Ph.D. Student, Civil & Environmental Engineering, Class of 2025
Advised by CEE Professor Michael Cassidy
Talk: Can Subsidized TNCs Trump Microtransit in Non-Urban settings?

Wesley Darling’s dissertation examines the comparative effectiveness of subsidized transportation network company (TNC) services—such as Uber and Lyft—versus microtransit in non-urban, low-demand areas. While microtransit aims to lower per-trip costs by consolidating rides, it often falls short in sparsely populated regions. TNCs offer more flexible and direct services but face challenges in aligning with public goals.

To address this, Wesley proposes a third-party service manager model to help coordinate and incentivize TNC cooperation with local communities. His research includes case studies from three Northern California towns, supported by a newly developed “consolidation metric” to evaluate cost-efficiency and service potential. The findings provide policymakers with practical insights for developing effective and equitable rural mobility solutions.

Ph.D., GeoSystems Engineering, Class of 2026
Geoengineering Graduate Student Association Board Member
2025–2026 Jane Lewis Fellowship Recipient

“My research is focused on improving risk mitigation, infrastructure resilience, and evidence-based policy making.”

Compiled by Pooja Nerkar

GeoSystems Ph.D. candidate Mirna Kassem, working with CEE Professor Dimitrios Zekkos, has been awarded the 2025–2026 Jane Lewis Fellowship. This prestigious and highly competitive award supports cutting-edge research in mining engineering and related fields, recognizing Mirna’s outstanding contributions to landslide hazard assessment and risk reduction.

As part of the fellowship, Mirna is developing a 3D predictive model for rainfall-induced landslides to enhance Landslide Early Warning Systems (LAWS). Her research aims to strengthen the resilience of both existing mines vulnerable to long-term failure and newly excavated sites at risk of immediate instability.

“My research is focused on regional-scale predictive modeling of rainfall-induced and co-seismic landslides,” she explains. “The goal is to improve risk mitigation, infrastructure resilience, and evidence-based policy making.”

At the core of her work is a mechanistic, data-driven framework for assessing landslide susceptibility. She leverages high-performance computing (HPC), parallel processing, and advanced data analytics to conduct high-resolution, large-scale simulations of landslide hazards across complex terrain.

Her interdisciplinary approach bridges geotechnical engineering, hydrology, geomorphology, remote sensing, and machine learning, equipping her to tackle some of today’s most urgent natural hazard challenges. She also examines how climate change and land-use dynamics influence slope stability over time.

Mirna’s overarching goal is to build more resilient and adaptive communities by reducing the societal and economic impacts of landslides. Through her research, she’s helping lay the foundation for a safer and more sustainable future, both for civil infrastructure and the mining industry.