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YANG LI

ABOUT

Dr. Yang Li is a Research Associate of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Institute for Physical Infrastructure & Transportation (IPIT). He has received his Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNCC) in December 2020. His Ph.D. concentrations are directly related to the applications of statistical methods and machine learning techniques on pedestrian safety analysis, earning him extensive experience in transportation data collection, analysis, and risk modeling. He is also the author or co-author of more than 15 technical papers closely linked to traffic safety.

Dr. Li has also conducted research on highway safety and transportation network modeling during his Ph.D. studies as a Research Assistant in the USDOT Center for Advanced Multimodal Mobility Solutions and Education (CAMMSE, Tier 1 UTC). He has independently worked on three USDOT funded projects as the lead reseacher, including:

  1. Using General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) Data as a Basis for Evaluating and Improving Public Transit Equity (Lead Researcher);
  2. Optimizing Transit Equity and Accessibility by Integrating Relevant GTFS Data Performance Metrics (Lead Researcher);
  3. Optimization of Long-Term Highway Work Zone Scheduling (Lead Researcher).

Dr. Li joined IPIT, UWM since 2020 and has been served as lead researcher or Co-PI in several projects directly related to the field of transportation at both state-level and national level, including:

  1. NCHRP 20-44(48) Peer Exchanges on Data Management and Governance Practices (Upcoming August 2023, Co-PI)
  2. Exploring the Impact of Funding for Unconventional Data Collection on Vulnerable Road User (VRU) Safety Improvements (Co-PI)
  3. Technology Development and Demonstration of Grit Assisted Patch (GAP): Improvement and Field Test (Lead Researcher);
  4. Comprehensive Evaluation of DT4000 Data Quality for Pedestrian and Bike Crashes (Lead Researcher);
  5. Wisconsin DOT Data Inventory/Catalog (Lead Researcher);
  6. NCHRP 08-139 Guide for Preventing and Mitigating the Risk of Bridge and Tunnel Strikes by Motor Vehicles (Lead Researcher);
  7. NCHRP 22-47 Incorporating Driver Behavior and Characteristics into Safety Predictive Methods; (Lead Researcher);
  8. WisDOT Data Governance Phase II (Co-PI);
  9. BTSCRP BTS-20 Strategies to Address Misreporting of Impaired and Distracted Driving in Motor Vehicle Crashes (Lead Researcher);
  10. Estimating Statewide Bicycle Volumes Using Crowdsourced Data (Co-PI).

Dr. Li has also actively served as an Ad Hoc Peer Reviewer since 2018 for many peer-reviewed journals, including: Traffic Injury Prevention, PLOS ONE, Accident Analysis and Prevention, Journal of Transportation Safety and Security, Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems, Journal of Transportation Engineering, Part A: Systems, International Journal of Transportation Science and Technology; and reputed conferences including: Transportation Research Board (TRB) 101st Annual Meeting (2022), Transportation Research Board (TRB) 100th Annual Meeting (2021), 18th COTA International Conference for Transportation Professionals (CICTP2018).

EDUCATION

Ph.D. in Civil Engineering (Transportation Engineering), UNC Charlotte, 2020
M.Sc. in Civil Engineering (Transportation Engineering), Clemson University, 2017
M.Sc. in Industrial Engineering, Clemson University, 2015
B.S. in Civil Engineering (Geological Engineering), Tongji University, China, 2010

RESEARCH FOCUS

Vulnerable Road Users (i.e., Pedestrians & Bicyclists) Safety Analysis
Crash Injury Severity & Count Modeling
Transportation Network Design & Modeling
Data Management and Data Governance