Welcome to Yao's website!!!! ;)  Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. Any thoughts are welcome! 

News

Currently, I'm an assistant professor of Transportation Engineering in the Department of Civil Engineering at Saint Louis University. I joined SLU in August, 2011.  I received my PhD (2010) in Transportation Engineering from the University of Washington (UW), Seattle. (Please see my CV for more details).

If you're interested in doing research with me, please feel free to contact me and we can talk about potential research assistantships and collaboration opportunities. Visiting scholars and students are welcome to talk to me. I'm building my new lab (Smart Transportation Lab). In addition to that, I am able to provide personal space and equipment for our research. 

For Master's applicants: please note that Parks College of Engineering provides very good 2-year research assistantships (stipend + insurance + tuition waiver). It's on a competitive base. In addition to the regular graduate school admission application, please fill the application form. If you have any questions, please contact the graduate program assistant, Ms. Angela Coleman. 

For Ph.D. program applicants: Research Assistantship is available. Please feel free to send me your C.V. before discussing potential funding opportunities, which are also on a competitive base.

Research Interests

My research interests highlight a strong connection between information technology (IT) and traditional transportation research. My research  covers four major fields: 1) traffic safety (i.e. accident modeling and analysis, and advanced safety vehicles), 2) intelligent transportation systems (i.e. development of advanced traffic detection technology, loop data quality control, and computer vision applications), 3) large-scale network analyses (i.e. online data management and analysis systems, network performance measurement and traveler behavior analysis). and 4) Sustainable transportation systems (e.g. climate change impact analysis). More specifically, my research interests are listed as follows:

• Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS)
• ATIS: Information Technology Applications in Transportation
• Advanced Safety Vehicles (ASV)
• Image Processing and Computer Vision Applications in Transportation
• Traffic Detection Technology
• Transportation Data Management and Analysis
• Traffic Simulation
• Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
• Traveler Behavior Analysis
• Transportation Safety Analysis and Accident Modeling
• Sustainable Transportation Systems

• Co-PI, Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Grant: Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant Program, Client: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. (Project Period: 2010~2013)
• PI, Freeway Travel Time Estimation using Existing Fixed Traffic Sensors.  Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT)  (Project Period: 2012~2013)

• Transit Farebox Data Error Identification. St. Louis Metro Transit 
• Roadway Safety Analysis using GIS-based Crash Data. Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT). 

Professional Services

1. Transportation Research Board (TRB)
• University Representative 
• Committee on Highway Traffic Monitoring (ABJ35): Official Young Member
• Committee on Urban Transportation Data and Information Systems (ABJ30): Official Young Member 
• Archived Data User Service (ADUS) Subcommittee (of ABJ35) : Member
• Committee on User Information Systems (AND20 ): Committee Friend
• Committee on Information Systems and Technology Committee (ABJ50) : Committee Friend
2. Other Members
• American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE): Associate Member
  
• Chinese Overseas Transportation Association (COTA)  : Member
  
• Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) : Associate Member
  
• TRB
  

Awards 

1. 2010 Michael Kyte Award (Region X Outstanding Student of the Year) 
• Nominees for the award are Students of the Year from Region X's respective University Transportation Centers.
  
  
2. 2010 UTC Region X Outstanding Student of the Year:
   
• Awarded by TransNow, Region X University Transportation Center (UTC)
• Recognized at the Council of University Transportation Centers (CUTC) banquet at the 90th TRB Annual Meeting. (Jan. 22nd, 2011)
  
  
3. Smart Transportation Applications and Research Laboratory (STAR Lab), Guiding Star Award. (June 15^th, 2009)
• For the student who made the most contribution in STAR Lab resource management, training, service, and equipment purchase and maintenance over the past year.
  
  
4. ITE Scholarship: Outstanding Graduate Student in Transportation (awarded by ITE Washington State Section. ( 2008)
   
   
5. Nominated for the 2008 Research Assistant Innovator Award and recognized by College of Engineering, University of Washington. (2008)
   
   
6. ITE District 6 Annual meeting James H. Kell Student Competition Strength (Paper Bridge Competition), First Place. (2007)