Tier-1 Edge in ADAS and Autonomous Driving

While the public often associates car innovation with OEMs, much of the technological progress originates from Tier-1 suppliers: Magna, Bosch, Valeo, Denso, and OP Mobility, etc. The relationship between Tier-1s and OEMs had been relatively stable; but no longer. Cars are becoming more software-defined, connected, and computational. The focus is shifting towards Advanced Driver Assistance Systems […]

Where do research ideas come from? The Missing First Step in Science

The formal part of “doing science” is taught in meticulous detail, yet the first step, generating initial ideas, remains mysterious. “Coming up an idea for research” feels ad hoc, idiosyncratic, inaccessible, even not teachable. Naturally students feel difficult to start, “when is my Eureka moment?” Science is asymmetrical: between how ideas are born and how […]

Not All Cities Can Learn from Copenhagen: Alternative Stories of Walking and Cycling

Copenhagen is brilliant in walking and cycling. But not all cities can learn from Copenhagen. Overly focusing on one “star” city is not heathy for the field. The success story is much broader, and some less known examples may be more relevant for your cities. Global understanding had been impossible for a long while: scarce, […]

Advise to Applicants to the MIT Graduate Programs

I ran the Open House one hour ago for MIT’s Master of Science in Transportation and PhD in Transportation programs. Here are a few ideas I shared with the candidates. 1. Shifting from being a good student seeking assessment to being a peer ready to contribute. No: “I am a good student; evaluate me!”Yes: “I […]

Does Work From Home Reduce Urban CO2 Emission?

Intuition suggests “yes” because it eliminates commuting. Reality: not necessarily. The TTI Urban Mobility Report: US traffic congestion in 2024 reached its worst level ever since the measure started in 1987. I hosted Rives Taylor and Jacob Plotkin from Gensler and Bhuvan Atluri and John Moavenzadeh from MIT Mobility Initiative to share the findings of […]

Time Through Six Lenses: Seeing the world as a scientist

In 2001 I flew from Qingdao, China, to Boston, MA to study at MIT. I realized that I never left the time zone UTC+8 until then. For the first time, I also realized that the US mainland has 4 time zones and China has only 1, even though they cover the similar longitudinal span. Why? […]

Banning A.I. Won’t Save Our Kids, But Teaching This Will

I attended my two high schoolers’ back-to-school night and joined seven classes. One teacher was emphatic: “AI is banned in my class. Using ChatGPT is cheating.” Another voiced anxiety, “if students use AI for writing, they’ll never learn to write on their own.” The teachers’ concerns are real. A 2025 MIT Media Lab study concluded that […]

The State of Play in the US Public Transit: 2025 October Update from Chicago and San Francisco

Public transit in the United States is at a difficult time: the looming “fiscal cliff” (the exhaustion of federal emergency relief funds that provided a lifeline to agencies during the COVID-19 pandemic), shifts in travel patterns both spatially and demographically, labor shortage and aging infrastructure, social issues such as homelessness, mental health, and crime being […]

Why is it so hard for cities to regulate AVs: Three perspectives from SF, Austin, and DC

San Francisco (CA), Austin (TX), and Washington D.C. represent three phases of AV implementation and distinct governance structures. Here’s what I learned from conversations with three city leaders about their on-the-ground experiences. Austin, Texas (TX) – Rachel Castignoli Austin is the “Wild West” of AV deployment because Texas state law prohibits cities from regulating AVs. […]

MIT Mobility Initiative Annual Report 2025

I am sharing with you the MIT Mobility Initiative Annual Report 2025. Global mobility in 2025 is being radically shaped by disruption and divergence. 1. Trade disputes and tariffs are redrawing supply chains, forcing companies to localize production and diversify sourcing 2. China is consolidating its lead in EVs, fueling global overcapacity. 3. Robotaxis are running […]

Lab seminars likely a waste of time! Six ways to fix it

Every Friday at 9:30am, 35 people from my lab (mobility.mit.edu) gathers at MIT’s 9-415 for a 1.5-hour research seminar. Two people present their research; and 33 listen, comment, and ask questions. Or so I thought. I’ve long believed I ran the best lab seminars —brilliant students, important topics, engaging presentations. And yet, one day it […]

What to learn in the AI age?

In the age of AI,1. How to learn?2. What to learn? At Mens, Manus and Machina (https://m3s.mit.edu/), we study both. But,“What to learn” is more important than “How to learn.”

Why Embodiment in A.I.? Mens, Manus and Machina (M3S)

Our Mens, Manus and Machina (M3S) program partnered with Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) to host the MIT-Singapore Symposium on Embodied and Scaleable AI. At M3S, we explore two essential questions: First, the interaction between humans and machines Second, we study how to adapt our institutions (governments, businesses, and labor systems) to create the […]

States Write the Laws. Cities Bear the Consequences. Resolving the State-City Tension in Autonomous Vehicle Regulation

JZ Part 1: States Write the Laws. Cities Bear the Consequences. The arrival of AVs on city streets is not the first technological disruption to challenge urban transportation governance. Before robotaxis, there were ridehailing giants: the aggressive state-level preemption battles by Uber and Lyft. The Déjà Vu of Disruption Transportation Network Companies (TNCs) entered cities […]

Who’s in Charge? — Human Agency in AV Deployment

Businesses that master the Human-Agency Matrix use AVs as service partners to create value. Cities, likewise, can use AVs as teammates—advancing safety, climate, and social goals. Who is in charge? When you step into an autonomous vehicle (AV), you relinquish lower-level controls—acceleration, braking, lane changes. Most riders barely notice and happily let go. When an […]

Three simple suggestions for preparing your PhD defense

JZ Suggestion #1: 5% + 90% + 5% → 10% + 70% + 20% Most students allocate their defense time like this: Introduction: 5% Main body of research: 90% Conclusion: 5% Don’t do that. Instead, aim for: Introduction: 10% Main body of research: 70% Conclusion: 20% A deeper introduction Precision is essential but not the […]

Ecosystem Alignments: What China’s EV Surge Teaches the U.S.

JZ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00h4g6QtErE&list=TLGGB26O-JOpmLIwODEwMjAyNQ Trade wars don’t build industries. Ecosystem alignments do. As tariffs escalate between the U.S. and China, electric vehicles (EVs) are the newest casualty. But the real threat isn’t foreign competition—it’s domestic inaction. While the U.S. protects its turf, China is building an electric future. Two Countries, Two Trajectories The U.S. is stuck in […]

Six Questions Each City Needs to Ask in AV Adoption

JZ Here are six questions each city needs to ask in AV Adoption: Ownership model or access model? ⬅️ today’s focus Single-occupancy or ride sharing? ⬅️ today’s focus Integrate with public transit or not? Rational pricing structure or not? Coordinated with land-use planning or not? Access for all vs. cherry-pick market? Question 1: Ownership model […]

Governance Models for AV Deployment in Cities.

JZ AVs are not the problem. Governing them is. We’ve studied global experiments in London, Boston, Singapore, Stockholm, and beyond—and developed six governance models for AV deployment in cities: 🔹 1. Laissez-Faire No public intervention. Pure market competition. AV providers cherry-pick the most profitable areas. Innovation thrives—but often with little regard for public interest. Can […]

Cities Are Not Prepared for Autonomous Vehicles. —Here’s How Should They.

Autonomous vehicles are arriving, but cities aren’t ready. Ten years ago, cities were energized by the promise of autonomous vehicles. In 2015, the buzz was loud. Cities ran pilots, hosted workshops, and published white papers. But the tech wasn’t ready. Cities grew disillusioned. Now the tech is real—and scaling. But the cities? Most U.S. cities […]