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Nazmul Arefin Khan’s Dissertation Defense

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Yesterday brought some good news for DalTRAC, as PhD candidate, Nazmul Arefin Khan successfully defended his dissertation (from a safe social distance, of course) and has now completed all the requirements of his PhD degree.

Committee members watching Nazmul’s defense over video conferencing. 

Nazmul defending his dissertation over video conferencing.

Nazmul’s dissertation develops an activity-based travel demand forecasting model, which addresses the underlying process mechanisms and interactions between various activity and travel attributes. His research not only contributes to travel demand modelling and forecasting literature but also provides critical insights to the evolution of urban activity and travel decisions which can be used to test alternative transportation and land use policies.

Nazmul has been conducting research with DalTRAC for six years now and his hard work and dedication have certainly paid off! Congratulations Nazmul, we cannot wait to see what exciting opportunities the future will bring for you!

Dr. Habib and his children cheering Nazmul on.

Nazmul’s biggest fans.

TRB 2020

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This week marks one of DalTRAC’s most important research dissemination events of the year. The 99th Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board is held from Sunday January 12th to Thursday January 16th in Washington D.C. The meeting attracts more than 13,000 transportation professionals world-wide. Monday and Tuesday have been busy days for the DalTRAC team.
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Dr. Ahsan Habib gave a presentation on the applications of VR in transportation planning and how this technology can be used for future developments.

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Nazmul also presented his research on a Shorter-term Decisions Simulator (SDS) model for mode choice and vehicle allocation in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

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Nazmul and Dr. Habib presented Katie Walker’s research during the TRB conference on Connect Smart Scenario Planning. This research considers challenges and opportunities associated with developing a framework for connected, autonomous, shared and electric (CASE) vehicles in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

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Md Jahedul Alam presented Pauline Laila Bela’s research on emission modelling in Halifax, Canada. He also presented his own research on mass evacuation planning and microsimulation modelling to estimate flood risk and traffic conditions.

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Md Asif Hasan Anik presenting his research on public bus discomfort based on different trip attributes.

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Dr. Habib also met up with past DalTRAC students during the conference, Shalia Jamal (left) and Mahmudur Fatmi (right).

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Lastly, Shaila Jamal presented research with Dr. Habib on the impacts of smartphones on travel behaviour.

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Successful Week for DalTRAC at WCTR in Mumbai, India

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It’s been a busy week for DalTRAC’s director Dr. Ahsan Habib, and PhD student Nazmul Khan, who are currently on the other side of the world in Mumbai, India. From May 26th to May 31st, prominent transportation experts from around the globe have gathered at the 15th World Conference on Transportation Research. This event represents an excellent opportunity for the exchange of ideas on topics ranging from transportation modelling, to disaster management, to urban goods movement.

Beyond going to learn about global transportation research, members of DalTRAC were recognized for their contributions to the field. On Thursday, DalTRAC’s own Nazmul Khan received the Young Initiative Prestige Grant Award for his work on a vehicle allocation model. This global recognition emphasizes both the importance and the quality of work that DalTRAC undertakes. Congratulations to Nazmul!

Dr. Ahsan Habib, DalTRAC’s director, was also on the ground in Mumbai. Building on research undertaken by DalTRAC, Dr. Habib gave a presentation on ridesourcing (which includes services such as Uber and Lyft). A highlight of WCTR was Dr. Habib’s involvement as a co-applicant for a Canadian effort to bring the conference to the great white north in 2022. After months of planning and coordination, it was announced that in 2022, WCTR will be held in Montreal – a momentous achievement.

With WCTR coming to a close, DalTRAC now is looking forward to continuing its important research, and to attending other transportation-related events such as the Transportation Association of Canada conference happening right here in Halifax in September.