Biography
Dr. Zhiwei Chen is an assistant professor of Civil, Architectural, & Environmental Engineering. He received his BE degree from South China University of Technology in 2017, and MS and Ph.D. degrees from the University of South Florida in 2019 and 2020, respectively. Before joining Drexel, he was a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of South Florida and subsequently at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Dr. Chen’s group (Connected & Automated Mobility Lab) focuses on building efficient, equitable, sustainable, and resilient mobility systems with emerging technologies, especially connected and automated vehicles. His group draws on theories and methods from optimization, control theory, machine learning, and social science to solve interdisciplinary research problems in emerging mobility systems.
Degrees / Education
- PhD, Civil Engineering, University of South Florida, 2020
- MS, Civil Engineering, University of South Florida, 2019
- BE, Transportation Engineering, South China University of Technology, 2017
Research Areas
Research Interests
Mobility system modeling, simulation, optimization, control, and social impact analysis, with applications to modular, connected, and automated vehicle systems, mobility as a service, public transit systems.
Areas of Study
Academic Distinctions
- Best Doctoral Dissertation Award, Chinese Overseas Transportation Association, 2022
- Charley Wootan Memorial – Masters Award, Council of University Transportation Centers, 2021
- Georgia L. Brosch Memorial Scholarship, University of South Florida, 2020
- Second Place, TRB Airport Cooperative Research Program Design Competition, 2020
- College of Engineering Graduate Fellowship, University of South Florida, 2017
- Best Undergraduate Thesis Award, South China University of Technology, 2017
- National Scholarship, Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, 2014 & 2015
Select Publications
- Chen, Z., Li, X., & Qu, X. (2022). A continuous model for designing corridor systems with modular autonomous vehicles enabling station-wise docking. Transportation Science, 56(1), 1-30.
- Gong, M., Hu, Y., & Chen, Z., & Li, X. (2021). Transfer-based customized bus system design with passenger-route assignment optimization. Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review.
- Chen, Z., & Li, X. (2021). Designing corridor systems with modular autonomous vehicles enabling station-wise docking: Discrete modeling method. Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, 152, 102388. (Also presented at the 24th International Symposium on Transportation and Traffic Theory, acceptance rate below 15%).
- Wang Z., Zhao X., Chen Z., & Li, X. (2021). A dynamic cooperative lane-changing model for connected and autonomous vehicles with possible accelerations of a preceding vehicle. Expert Systems with Applications, 173, 114675.
- Chen, Z., & Li, X. (2021). Unobserved heterogeneity in transportation equity analysis: Evidence from a bike-sharing system in southern Tampa. Journal of Transport Geography. 91, 52-70.
- Pei, M., Lin, P., Du, J., Li, X.*, & Chen, Z. (2021). Vehicle dispatching in modular transit networks: A nonlinear mixed-integer programming model. Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review.
- Shi, X., Chen, Z., Pei, M., & Li, X. (2020). Variable-capacity operations with modular transits for shared-use corridors. Transportation Research Record, 0361198120928077.
- Guo, Y., Chen, Z., Stuart, A., Li, X. & Zhang, Y. (2020). A systematic overview of transportation equity in terms of accessibility, traffic emissions, and safety outcomes: from conventional to emerging technologies. Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives, 4, 100091.
- Chen, Z., Li, X., & Zhou, X. (2020). Operational design for shuttle systems with modular vehicles under oversaturated traffic: Continuous modeling method. Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, 132, 76-100. (Also presented at the 23rd International Symposium on Transportation and Traffic Theory, acceptance rate below 15%).
- Chen, Z., Hu, Y., Li, J., & Wu, X. (2020). Optimal deployment of electric bicycle sharing stations: Model formulation and solution technique. Networks and Spatial Economics, 20(1), 99-136.
- Chen, Z., Guo, Y., Stuart, A., Zhang, Y. & Li, X. (2019). Exploring the equity performance of bike-sharing systems with disaggregated data: A story of southern Tampa. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 130, 529-545.
- Chen, Z., Li, X., & Zhou, X. (2019). Operational design for shuttle systems with modular vehicles under oversaturated traffic: Discrete modeling method. Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, 122, 1-19.