Virginia Sisiopiku Kicking out the jams

Everyone likes to complain about traffic. Virginia Sisiopiku, Ph.D., is doing something about it. Sisiopiku, associate professor of transportation engineering in the School of Engineering and director of the UAB Transportation Engineering and Development Lab, is part of a new $14 million study from the U.S. Department of Transportation to develop novel strategies for reducing traffic congestion.

Sisiopiku and her team are using computer modeling and field tests to evaluate new ways of dealing with one of the worst jam-makers: construction zones. They are also studying the effects of new technologies. Will ridesharing apps like Uber lead to a decline in the number of younger drivers? How could data from today’s sensor-packed cars help engineers dynamically manage traffic flow? “We really have to be proactive to prepare for a new era of transportation,” Sisiopiku said. “We have to reevaluate existing theories of traffic flow to reflect the realities of tomorrow.”

http://www.uab.edu/reporter/people/achievements/item/7514