PhD Student

Amr is a Research Assistant and PhD candidate in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Alberta, where he was admitted as a full-time student in January 2024. His research focuses on assessing and enhancing active transportation infrastructure using LiDAR technology.

Amr’s work involves advanced LiDAR data analysis, including the application of semantic segmentation models, ray tracing techniques, SLAM, and other machine learning methods for point cloud processing. He also has hands-on experience with LiDAR data collection, multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) tools, and GIS-based spatial analysis.

In addition to his research activities, Amr serves as a Teaching Assistant for the Transportation Engineering course (CIV 315) in the Civil Engineering Program. His preferred mode of transportation is walking.

MSc student

Matthew Blain is an MSc student in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Alberta, specializing in transportation engineering. Advised by Dr. Karim El-Basyouny and co-advised by Dr. Stephen Wong, he has a strong interest in Complete Streets design and sustainability in transportation engineering and is currently researching school playground zone transportation safety and travel patterns. Matt completed his BSc at the University of Alberta in Civil and Environmental Engineering in 2023. 

Matt has made strong use of GIS software to relate the built environment to safety and congestion, used multiple methods to classify schools by their built environment, and utilized traffic microsimulation software (SUMO) to model peak hours of flow in and around school playground zones and the effects of various demand management strategies and network changes on those flows.

His favourite mode of transportation is trains. 

Postdoctoral Scholar

Lubna Obaid earned her PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering (Transportation Engineering) from the University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. She is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Transportation Engineering and Smart Mapping research group at the University of Alberta. Her research lies at the intersection of intelligent transportation systems, artificial intelligence, geospatial analytics, and transportation safety, with a focus on data-driven approaches for transportation planning and operations.

Dr. Obaid has extensive experience in machine learning and deep learning, computer vision, GIS and remote sensing, and traffic simulation, as well as the integration of emerging data sources such as mobile mapping systems and trajectory data. She actively engages in interdisciplinary and applied research collaborations with academic institutions, industry partners, and public agencies.

She has authored 23 peer-reviewed publications and has an h-index of 8. Her work is driven by a strong commitment to advancing safe, efficient, and sustainable transportation systems through innovative analytical methods that bridge research and real-world implementation. 

MSc Student

Marina Aziz is a graduate transportation engineering student at the University of Alberta, driven by research-focused innovation and sustainable engineering solutions. Her current research explores the intersection between curbside management, specifically on-street parking in residential neighbourhoods, with pedestrian and vehicular safety to develop equitable solutions.

Marina’s interest in sustainable transportation began when she joined the University of Alberta’s EcoCar Fuel Cell Team in 2020. She later became a Fuel Cell team lead and managed the multidisciplinary sub-team and helped secure funding for green transportation projects. She represented the team at the 2023 Shell Eco-Marathon, earning recognition through interviews with Shell Eco-Marathon and WISEST for her technical and outreach contributions.

Marina’s favourite form of transportation is riding in a boat on clean and peaceful waters. 

Senior Researcher

Liqun (Leo) Peng is a transportation researcher with expertise in Intelligent Transportation Systems, artificial intelligence, and machine vision, focusing on transportation safety and traffic infrastructure management. He completed postdoctoral research in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Alberta in 2015–2017 and 2019–2021.

Leo has research and teaching experience in both Canada and China and has worked with transportation enterprises, bringing industry perspectives into his research and education. He is committed to advancing interdisciplinary research and innovation in smart and safe transportation systems. 

Leo's preferred mode of transportation ideally involves smart vehicles, real-time data, minimal efforts, and at least one app assuring him the most efficient route. 

MSc Student

Ehab is an MSc student in Transportation Engineering at the University of Alberta, where he began his studies in January 2025. His research focuses on leveraging deep learning and LiDAR technologies to assess and enhance active transportation infrastructure.

He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Systems and Biomedical Engineering from Cairo University, where he developed a strong foundation in artificial intelligence and data analysis. During his undergraduate studies, he explored the integration of AI within medical systems, focusing on automated decision-support solutions designed to improve efficiency and support better outcomes.

Outside of his academic work, Ehab enjoys playing football, listening to music, and playing video games. 

Ehab's favourite mode of transportation is walking.

Research Communications & Administrative Assistant

Renata completed an M.Sc. degree in Quaternary Sciences, an interdisciplinary research program in natural sciences, at the University of Northern Arizona. Her master's thesis included palaeoecological reconstruction of Holocene climatic patterns of the Jemez Mountains, New Mexico, US, based on an approximately 11,000-year record of changes in fossil pollen, spores, seeds, and charcoal from high-elevation bogs.

Renata has worked since 2000 as a wordsmith and publishing professional. Her areas of publishing expertise include educational, academic, professional development, and technical materials in STEM disciplines and English language learning. She joined the University of Alberta's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering as a technical writer in 2020. Renata currently provides research communications, strategic support, and administrative assistance to the transportation engineering group.

Renata's favourite mode of transportation is trains.

MSc Student

Ziqin began his MSc studies in Transportation Engineering in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Alberta under the supervision of Dr. Karim El-Basyouny. His research focuses on perception and mapping for transportation and outdoor environments, with an emphasis on LiDAR and image-based analysis techniques.

Previously, Ziqin earned a Bachelor’s degree in Automation from Wuhan University. His undergraduate thesis centered on autonomous driving, where he explored multi-agent trajectory prediction models to address the challenge of bridging perception and decision-making in autonomous systems.

Outside of his academic and professional pursuits, Ziqin enjoys playing tennis, gaming, and working out at the gym. His favorite mode of transportation is cross-ocean flight. 

Visiting PhD Student

Ting is a visiting PhD student from Tongji University, supported by the China Scholarship Council (CSC) Joint Training Program. Her research focuses on traffic safety, autonomous driving decision-making in mixed traffic, and safety evaluation and testing of autonomous vehicles.

She has been involved in projects related to road safety assessment, trajectory data modeling for intelligent transportation systems, and stochastic analysis of driving behavior. Her academic experience includes statistical modeling, driving simulator experiments, mixed traffic flow simulation, and improving vehicle decision-making algorithms to enhance safety performance. Her long-term research goal is to contribute to safer, more stable, and more efficient mixed traffic environments involving autonomous vehicles. 

Outside of research, Ting enjoys reading, listening to music, watching movies and TV series, and playing video games.

Ting's research interests include: autonomous driving decision-making; mixed traffic flow analysis; and applications of multi-modal AI in transportation engineering.

MSc Student

Ayman completed his BSc in Construction Engineering, with a concentration in Construction Management and Materials, at the American University in Cairo. During his undergraduate studies, he co-authored two journal articles and seven conference papers.

In January 2026, he joined the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Alberta to pursue a Master of Science in Transportation Engineering.

Outside of academics, Ayman enjoys traveling to popular destinations and meeting new people.

Ayman’s favorite mode of transportation is biking.

MSc Student

Abdallah is an MSc student in Transportation Engineering at the University of Alberta, where he began his studies in September 2025. He holds a BSc in Systems and Biomedical Engineering from Cairo University, with a strong academic focus on artificial intelligence and software engineering.

His research interests center on applying AI and data-driven methods to transportation engineering, including intelligent transportation systems, multi-modal AI applications in transportation, data-informed decision-making, AI-based traffic safety evaluation, and the intersection between transportation and public health.

Professionally, Abdallah has worked as a Software Engineer at Ezz Medical Industries, Egypt’s leading medical equipment manufacturing company, and at Synapse Analytics, a pioneering FinTech and AI company delivering data-driven technology solutions in Egypt.

Beyond his academic work, Abdallah enjoys exploring emerging technologies, watching anime, and playing video games. Find more about him on Linked In and his work on GitHub. 

MSc Student

Yeganeh is an MSc student in Transportation Engineering at the University of Alberta. She completed her BSc in Civil Engineering from the University of Tehran.

Her academic interests center on advancing more equitable transportation systems and improving everyday mobility. She is particularly interested in how emerging technologies and intelligent transportation systems can be used to make travel safer, more efficient, and accessible for all road users.

Outside of academia, Yeganeh enjoys traveling to new places, watching movies, and working out at the gym.

Her favorite mode of transportation is walking, especially with a good playlist.

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Undergraduate student, Department of Computing Science

Faculty of Science | University of Alberta