I am a professor and founder. My research integrates behavior science and computation to shape behavior, design system, and reform policies. I also explore how artificial intelligence unlocks new opportunities for cities, jobs and education. I lead urban mobility research at MIT, and are lead principal investigator of “AI, Human and Organization: Mens, Manus, and Machina”.
I share practical insights on mobility, AI and city policies -real research, actionable frameworks, no jargons.
For city leaders, regulators, planners, industry executives, professionals and researchers who want to understand what actually works, what’s not, and what might come next.
Professor of Cities and Transportation, 2013 ~ present
MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning
MIT Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
MIT Institute of Data, System and Society
Founder and Faculty Director, MIT Mobility Initiative, 2020 ~ present
Director, MIT Transit Lab, 2014 ~ present
Director, MIT JTL Urban Mobility Lab, 2013 ~ present
Co-director, Mobility System Center, MIT Energy Initiative, 2020 ~ 2022
Chair, MIT Transportation Education Committee which manages two degree programs: Master of Science in Transportation and Interdepartmental PhD in Transportation. 2020-present
Chair, MIT PhD program in Urban Studies and Planning, 2019-2023
Member, MIT Schwarzman College of Computing, Common Ground Committee, 2020-present
Member, MIT Schwarzman College of Computing, AI & Mobility Taskforce, 2020-present
Member, MIT Energy Council, 2021-present
Member, World Economic Forum Global Future Council on the Future of Autonomous Mobility, 2023-present
Member, Monash Commission on the Liveable Metropolis, 2020-present
Advisory Board Member, Global Partnership for Informal Transportation, 2020-present
Editorial Board Member, Transportation Research, 2021-present
Swiss National Science Foundation, Reviewer of Interdisciplinary Funding Application, 2018-2019
Reviewers, Academic Journals in City Planning and Transportation, 2009-present
Reviewer, U.S. Department of Energy, Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E), 2014-2015
Papers in Refereed Journals
M. Leong et al., “MetRoBERTa: Leveraging Traditional Customer Relationship Management Data to Develop a Transit-Topic-Aware Language Model,” Transportation Research Record, p. 03611981231225655, 2024.
P. Meredith-Karam, H. Kong, A. Stewart, and J. Zhao, “Understanding and comparing the public transit and ride-hailing ridership change in Chicago during COVID-19 via statistical and survey approaches,” Travel Behaviour and Society, vol. 37, p. 100838, 2024.
B. Mo, P. Noursalehi, H. N. Koutsopoulos, and J. Zhao, “Modeling virus transmission risks in commuting with emerging mobility services: A case study of COVID-19,” Travel Behaviour and Society, vol. 34, p. 100689, 2024.
Y. Tang et al., “Robust Reinforcement Learning Strategies with Evolving Curriculum for Efficient Bus Operations in Smart Cities,” Smart Cities, vol. 7, no. 6, pp. 3658–3677, 2024.
Q. Wang et al., “Deep hybrid model with satellite imagery: How to combine demand modeling and computer vision for travel behavior analysis?,” Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, vol. 179, p. 102869, 2024.
M. Leong et al., “MetRoBERTa: Leveraging Traditional Customer Relationship Management Data to Develop a Transit-Topic-Aware Language Model,” Transportation Research Record, p. 03611981231225655, 2024.
P. Meredith-Karam, H. Kong, A. Stewart, and J. Zhao, “Understanding and comparing the public transit and ride-hailing ridership change in Chicago during COVID-19 via statistical and survey approaches,” Travel Behaviour and Society, vol. 37, p. 100838, 2024.
B. Mo, P. Noursalehi, H. N. Koutsopoulos, and J. Zhao, “Modeling virus transmission risks in commuting with emerging mobility services: A case study of COVID-19,” Travel Behaviour and Society, vol. 34, p. 100689, 2024.
Y. Tang et al., “Robust Reinforcement Learning Strategies with Evolving Curriculum for Efficient Bus Operations in Smart Cities,” Smart Cities, vol. 7, no. 6, pp. 3658–3677, 2024.
Q. Wang et al., “Deep hybrid model with satellite imagery: How to combine demand modeling and computer vision for travel behavior analysis?,” Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, vol. 179, p. 102869, 2024.
M. Leong et al., “MetRoBERTa: Leveraging Traditional Customer Relationship Management Data to Develop a Transit-Topic-Aware Language Model,” Transportation Research Record, p. 03611981231225655, 2024.
P. Meredith-Karam, H. Kong, A. Stewart, and J. Zhao, “Understanding and comparing the public transit and ride-hailing ridership change in Chicago during COVID-19 via statistical and survey approaches,” Travel Behaviour and Society, vol. 37, p. 100838, 2024.
B. Mo, P. Noursalehi, H. N. Koutsopoulos, and J. Zhao, “Modeling virus transmission risks in commuting with emerging mobility services: A case study of COVID-19,” Travel Behaviour and Society, vol. 34, p. 100689, 2024.
Y. Tang et al., “Robust Reinforcement Learning Strategies with Evolving Curriculum for Efficient Bus Operations in Smart Cities,” Smart Cities, vol. 7, no. 6, pp. 3658–3677, 2024.
Q. Wang et al., “Deep hybrid model with satellite imagery: How to combine demand modeling and computer vision for travel behavior analysis?,” Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, vol. 179, p. 102869, 2024.