Sean Qian

Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Sean Qian is a Full Professor jointly appointed at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (major) and Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy (minor) at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). He directs the Mobility Data Analytics Center (MAC) at CMU.

Qian's research interest lies in large-scale dynamic network modeling and large-scale data analytics for multi-modal transportation systems, in development of intelligent transportation systems (ITS) and in understanding infrastructure system interdependency. His research has been supported by a number of public agencies and private firms, such as NSF, U.S. DOE, U.S. DOT, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT), Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED), IBM, Honda R&D, Fujitsu Inc. Benedum Foundation, and Hillman Foundation.

Prof. Qian serves an Associate Editor for Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies, Transportation Science, Transportmatrica B, and Journal of Public Transportation, and an editorial board editor for Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, and is an active member of the Network Modeling Committee of Transportation Research Board. He is the recipient of the NSF CAREER award in 2018 and Greenshields Prize from the Transportation Research Board in 2017.

Publications

Selected Publications
- Zhuoran Zhang, Burcu Akinci, Sean Qian (2022) "Inferring the causal effect of work zones on crashes: methodology and a case study ", Analytic Methods in Accident Research, Vol.33, 100203. [URL]
- Rick Grahn, Sean Qian, Chris Hendrickson, (2021) "Improving the performance of first- and last-mile mobility services through transit coordination, real-time demand prediction, advanced reservations, and trip prioritization", Transportation Research Part C, Vol.133, 103430. [URL]
- Wei Ma, Sean Qian, (2021), "High-Resolution Traffic Sensing with Probe Autonomous Vehicles: A Data-Driven Approach", Sensors, 21(2), 464. [URL]
- Weiran Yao, Sean Qian, (2021), "From Twitter to Traffic Predictor: Next-Day Morning Traffic Prediction Using Social Media Data", Transportation Research Part C, Vol.124, 102938. [URL]
- Wei Ma, Xidong Pi, Sean Qian, (2020) "Estimating multi-class dynamic origin-destination demand through a forward-backward algorithm on computational graphs", Transportation Research Part C, Vol.119, 102747. [URL]
- Pinchao Zhang, Sean Qian, (2020) "Path-based system optimal dynamic traffic assignment: a subgradient approach", Transportation Research Part B, Vol.134, pp.41-63. [URL]
- Shuguan Yang, Wei Ma, Xidong Pi, Sean Qian, (2019) "A deep learning approach to real-time parking occupancy prediction in transportation networks incorporating multiple spatio-temporal data sources", Transportation Research Part C, Vol.107, pp. 248-265
- Xidong Pi, Wei Ma, Sean Qian, (2019) "A general formulation for multi-modal dynamic traffic assignment considering multi-class vehicles, public transit and parking", Transportation Research Part C, Vol.104, pp. 369-389
Recent Awards and Honors
- Jan 2020: 2019 Professor of the Year, ASCE Pittsburgh Section
- Jan 2019 - 2022: Henry Posner, Anne Molloy, and Robert and Christine Pietrandrea Career Development Chair
- Nov 2018-Oct 2019: Global Future Council Fellowship, World Economic Forum
- Mar 2018: NSF CAREER award
- Jan 2018: 2017 Greenshields Prize
- Dec 2013: IBM faculty award
- Nov 2013: Berkman Faculty Development Grant, Carnegie Mellon University

Additional Information

Education

PhD 2011, University of California Davis
MS 2012, Stanford University
MS 2006, Tsinghua University
BS 2004, Tsinghua University