Dr. Yu Zhang's Short Bio:
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Dr. Yu Zhang is an Associate Professor with the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of South Florida. Dr. Zhang’s main research areas are: Transportation system modeling, analysis, and simulation; Resilient system design and operations; Air transportation and global airline industry; Multimodal transportation planning and sustainable transportation. Dr. Zhang applies mathematical programming and optimization techniques, simulation, econometric and statistical tools to solve the problems for resilient, efficient, and sustainable transportation systems. Her research projects are funded by government agencies, such as NSF, FAA, FHWA, FDOT and also local industry companies. Dr. Zhang is also conducting international collaboration research with scholars and professionals from Europe and East Asia.
 
Dr. Zhang is the recipient of the 2010 Fred Burggraf Award, for excellence in transportation research by researchers 35 years of age or younger, presented by TRB of the National Academies of Science. She has published more than 40 papers in top transportation journals such as Transportation Research Part B, Part C, Part D, and Part E. Dr. Zhang is serving on the editorial board for Transportation Research Part C and International Journal of Sustainable Transportation, and is a reviewer for Transportation Science, Transportation Research Part A, Part B, Part C, Part D, Part E, Aerospace Engineering and Technology, Journal of Air Transport Management, Journal of Intelligent Transportation Systems, European Journal of Operation Research, and other transportation related journals.
 
Dr. Zhang is actively involved in professional organizations. She serves as the Chair for Transportation Research Board (TRB) Airfield and Airspace Capacity and Delay (AV060) committee (2018-present). Dr. Zhang served as the President for Chinese Overseas Transportation Association (COTA) (2016-2018). Dr. Zhang also serves on state and local committee/task force, including Florida Transportation Plan (FTP) Automated, Connected, Electric, and Shared (ACES) Subcommittee, City of Tampa Resilience Task Force. 

Dr. Zhang holds Ph.D. and M.S. from the University of California Berkeley in Civil and Environmental Engineering and Bachelor from Southeast University of China in Transportation Engineering. 

Research Areas:

Advanced Aerial Mobility: Vertiport Location  Determination and Network Design; Integrated National Airspace System; Automated Air Traffic Management System; Trajectory Planning 
*"Advanced aerial mobility involves the emergence of transformative and disruptive new airborne technology supporting an ecosystem designed to transport people and things to locations not traditionally served by current mode of air transportation, including both rural and the more challenging and complex urban environment."  --Advancing Aerial Mobility: A National Blueprint

Micromobility and Shared Automated Vehicles: Efficient and Equitable Micromobility Program Design and Regulation; Performance Evaluation of Micromobility Program; Emerging of Shared Automated Vehicles.
*Micromobility: namely docked and dockless sharing programs with bike, electric bikes and electric scooters.  

​Air Transport Management: Airport Planning and Management, Air Transport Economics, Air Traffic Management, Emerging Technologies, Environmental Issues in Aviaiton

Resilient Cities: Criticality Analysis of Roadway Network and Freight Transportation System; Integrated Mitigation and Restoration Planning for Transportation and Freight Movement; Resiliency of Interdependent Critical Infrastructures  




Key words of research interests/areas:
optimization, algorithm, environment, energy, sustainability, intermodal transportation, air cargo, freight movement, autonomous vehicle, next generation air transport system, intercity transport


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​Patent applications in progress:

Automatic Prediction of Runway Configuration and Airport Acceptance Rate for Multi-Airport System, USF Ref. No. 20A099-Zhang
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A System and Method for Infrastructure Restoration Plan Optimization, USF Ref. No.17B148PRC_Zhao

​Honors and Awards:

Students and Others:
  • Congratulate Hualong Tang and Yuan Wang for receiving Tenth National Aviation System Planning Symposium Graduate Student Participation Grants to participate this symposium May 20-23, 2018 in Anchorage, Alaska. 
  • Congratulate Natalia Barbour for being selected as one of 20 top graduate students in transportation to attend Eno Future Leaders Development Conference, May 20-24, 2018 in Washington D.C. 
  • Congratulate Yuan Wang for being awarded the 2017 Georgia Brosch Memorial Transportation Scholarship.
  • Congratulate Yuan Wang for for receiving the 2017  TRBACRP Graduate Research Award. It is national level award sponsored by FAA and administrated by Transportation Research Board.
  • Congratulate Natalia Barbour for receiving USF Graduate Student Success Scholarship. It is a three-year scholarship covering the tuition and stipend.  
  • Congratulate Nikhil Menon for being awarded the 2015 Georgia Brosch Memorial Transportation Scholarship.
  • Congratulate Makarand Gawade for receiving the 2014 ACRP Graduate Research Award. It is national level award sponsored by FAA and administrated by Transportation Research Board.
  • Congratulate Makarand Gawade for being awarded the 2013 Georgia Brosch Memorial Transportation Scholarship
  • Congratulate Rui Guo for receiving 2012 Anne Brewer Scholarship.
  • Congratulate Qing Wang for being awarded the 2012 Georgia Brosch Memorial Transportation Scholarship
  • Congratulate Makarand Gawade (as the second author with Dr. Yu Zhang) for receiving the Best Paper Award for the airline operations, quality of service and marketing track in 5th International Conference on Research in Air Transportation (ICRAT 2012).
  • Congratulate Nagesh Nayak (as the second author with Dr. Yu Zhang) for receiving 2011 Transportation Research Board's Fred Burggraf Award, which recognizes excellence in transportation research by researchers 35 years of age or under.
  • Congratulate Nagesh Nayak for receiving 2011 Anne Brewer Scholarship.
  • Congratulat Nagesh Nayak for receiving 2010 ACRP Graduate Research Award. It is national level award sponsored by FAA and administrated by Transportation Research Board.
  • Congratulate Hongyun Chen for being awarded the 2010 Georgia Brosch Memorial Transportation Scholarship
  • Congratulate Nagesh Nayak for receiving 2008 Anne Brewer Scholarship. Anne Brewer was a great ITS visionary and leader. The ITS Florida scholarship program renamed in her honor will serve to assist future ITS leaders in Florida and serve as a lasting memory of Anne’s contributions to ITS. 
Dr. Yu Zhang
  1. Best Paper Award for the airline operations, quality of service and marketing track in 5th International Conference on Research in Air Transportation (ICRAT 2012).
  2. 2010 Fred Burggraf Award, Aviation, for excellence in transportation research by researchers 35 years of age or younger, presented by Transportation Transportation Research Board (TRB) of the National Academies of Science
  3. Robert Horonjeff Memorial Grant (2007)
  4. Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Self-financed Students Abroad (2006)
  5. UCTC Dissertation Grant (2006-2007)
  6. UCTC fellowship (2005-2006)
  7. Graduate Scholarship, UC Berkeley (2003-2004)
  8. Departmental Block Grant Fellowship, UC Berkeley (2002-2003)
  9. James H. Kell Student Competition Award, Institute of Transportation Engineer (2003)
  10. Best paper of Nanjing Transportation Bureau, China, (1999)
  11. Employee of the year, Nanjing Highway Administration, China (1998)
  12. Honored Graduate, Southeast University, China (1997)
  13. Undergraduate Fellowship, Southeast University, China (1993-1997)