91É«ÇéƬ

Ahmad Emami is a dedicated Ph.D. candidate in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at 91É«ÇéƬ Sydney, where he conducts his research under the supervision of Prof. Meead Saberi. With a strong academic foundation in industrial engineering from Sharif University of Technology in Iran—where he completed both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees—Ahmad brings a unique interdisciplinary perspective to his work.

His research centres on leveraging AI‑assisted mapping to improve how we capture and understand transportation infrastructure, particularly sidewalks. Sidewalk data is often incomplete or inconsistent, yet it plays a crucial role in studies of pedestrian navigation, accessibility, and walkability. Ahmad’s work explores not only how AI can accelerate and enhance the mapping process, but also how human judgment must be woven into these systems to prevent errors, improve reliability, and ultimately create safer, more inclusive pedestrian environments.

Beyond his technical contributions, Ahmad is deeply passionate about the impact of research on everyday life. He sees his work as a way to help shape more connected, accessible, and human-centered cities.

At Research Centre for Integrated Transport Innovation (rCITI) at 91É«ÇéƬ, he is part of a vibrant, international community of researchers—an experience he values greatly. He approaches his research with enthusiasm, gratitude, and a desire to make a meaningful difference.

Meet Kadek Sumaja: Advancing Climate Resilience in Air Transport

Kadek Sumaja is a PhD candidate at rCITI whose thesis focuses on understanding and managing climate risks in air transport systems. Originally from Indonesia, Kadek brings a unique multidisciplinary background spanning climate science, meteorology, physics, disaster management, and aviation.

His PhD research, Quantifying Risk and Enhancing Resilience: A Climate Adaptation Framework for Air Transport and Climate Sensitive Destinations, examines how extreme weather and long term climate change affect airport operations, airspace capacity, and flight corridors. By integrating climate projections with operational disruption modelling, his work quantifies delays, cancellations, and changes in flight time under future climate scenarios. The goal is to develop a transferable framework that supports evidence based adaptation planning for aviation systems and air transport dependent destinations.

Kadek holds a Master of Disaster Management from the University of Auckland and has over ten years of professional experience as an aviation meteorologist at Bali International Airport. Witnessing weather related disruptions firsthand motivated his research into translating climate data into operationally meaningful insights for industry and policymakers.

Through his PhD candidature, Kadek aims to strengthen the resilience of air transport systems and support informed decision making in an increasingly climate uncertain future.

For more information about this topic contact:  k.sumaja@unsw.edu.au

Meet Randy Franstiarajah: Researching Cleaner Transport Futures

Randy Franstiarajah is a PhD candidate in Transportation Engineering at the Research Centre for Integrated Transport Innovation (rCITI).  His research focuses on improving the understanding and control of heavy duty vehicle emissions using real world driving data.

Randy studies real world driving data collected from vehicles on the road. He uses this data to understand how factors like speed, acceleration, and sudden driving movements lead to higher pollution, particularly nitrogen oxides (NOx). To do this, he uses data analysis and machine learning tools that help explain which driving patterns produce the most emissions. His goal is not only to predict emissions more accurately, but also to help design eco driving strategies that can reduce pollution in everyday driving.

Originally from Indonesia, Randy holds an Associate Degree from Nanjing Institute of Railway Technology, a Bachelor’s degree from Nanjing Tech University, and a Master’s degree from Southeast University, where he received multiple academic excellence awards and scholarships. He has published several peer reviewed conference papers and received recognition for outstanding research presentations.

Randy aspires to pursue an academic career and contribute to advancing vehicle emissions control and sustainable transport policy, especially in countries where cleaner transport solutions are urgently needed.

For more information about this topic contact: r.franstiarajah@unsw.edu.au

Meet Fatemeh Hirbod: Advancing Efficiency and Sustainability in Maritime Logistics

Fatemeh Hirbod is a PhD candidate specialising in making maritime container terminals work more efficiently. These terminals are busy and complex environments, and even small delays can lead to higher costs and congestion. Fatemeh’s work aims to support better day to day decisions in these systems.

She has  a strong  foundation in industrial engineering, her research focuses on improving the performance of complex logistics and transportation systems through advanced analytical and data driven approaches.

Her research integrates queueing theory, predictive modelling, and optimization techniques to enhance resource allocation, reduce congestion and delays, and minimise operational costs while maintaining service quality. By leveraging forecasting under uncertainty and structured decision making frameworks, Fatemeh’s work provides practical solutions for real world maritime and logistics operations.

Fatemeh holds a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering at Alzahra University in Tehran and a Masters of Industrial Engineering at the University of Tehran.  She has published research on topics such as vaccine distribution and waste management, showing how mathematical models can be applied to real world problems.

Driven by a strong interest in problem solving, Fatemeh hopes her research will contribute to more efficient and sustainable transportation systems in the future.

Maryam Safarnezhad is a PhD candidate at the Research Centre for Integrated Transport Innovation (rCITI) whose thesis focuses on improving how container ports operate. Her research focuses on helping ports use their resources better and reduce delays when things do not go as planned.

Maryam completed a Master of Applied Science in Industrial Engineering at Amirkabir University of Technology, Iran, and a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) in Industrial Engineering from Mazandaran University of Science and Technology, Babol, Iran.

During her master’s studies, she worked on projects related to pricing, demand management, and improving operational efficiency. She considers this work a key achievement because it had real practical value.

Maryam’s main research interests include port logistics, optimisation, and risk management. She enjoys working on complex problems and turning data and models into practical solutions. In the future, she hopes to continue her career in research and education while contributing to more efficient and sustainable transport and logistics systems.

For more information about this topic please contact Maryam by email maryam.safarnezhad@unsw.edu.au

Moloud Damandeh is a PhD candidate at the University of New South Wales (91É«ÇéƬ) whose research explores how artificial intelligence can be used to create more inclusive and walkable cities. Her doctoral project, Analyzing Street Walkability in Cities using Deep Learning, focuses on understanding how different groups perceive and experience walking environments, moving beyond traditional, one-size-fits-all walkability metrics.

Moloud uses computer vision and deep learning to analyse images of sidewalks, along with surveys that capture people’s personal experiences. She believes walkability is not the same for everyone. For example, older adults, people with disabilities, or those living in less advantaged areas may experience streets very differently. Her goal is to create a walkability assessment tool that reflects these differences and supports fairer and more inclusive city planning.

Before coming to 91É«ÇéƬ, Moloud completed a Bachelor’s degree (2020) and a Master’s degree (2023) in Industrial Engineering at Sharif University of Technology in Iran. She is supervised by Dr Meead Saberi Kalaee and is part of the rCITI research team.

Driven by a desire to challenge conventional urban planning approaches, Moloud hopes her work will help create cities where walking is safe, accessible, and welcoming for all.

For more information about this topic please contact Moloud by email m.damandeh@unsw.edu.au

Mohan Ai is a PhD candidate at the Research Centre for Integrated Transport Innovation (rCITI), 91É«ÇéƬ Sydney, supervised by Professor Taha Hossein Rashidi and Dr Ali Najmi.

His research focuses on the development of an activity-based model (ABM) using advanced deep learning methods to improve the performance and efficiency of ride-hailing systems.

Mohan’s research aims to accurately predict ride-hailing demand by integrating deep learning techniques with activity-based travel demand modelling. The proposed framework is embedded within an agent-based simulator that enables real-time optimisation of pricing, matching, repositioning, ride-pooling, and routing decisions.

His work also considers the impacts of emerging technologies such as electric and autonomous vehicles. Through this integrated approach, the research seeks to minimise passenger waiting times, maximise driver income, and enhance overall system efficiency in the ride-hailing industry.

Mohan holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Civil Engineering from Tianjin University (2020) and a Master of Engineering in Transportation Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley (2022), with a specialisation in Intelligent Transportation Systems. Prior to commencing his PhD, he gained two years of professional experience in data science and operations management at a major Chinese national enterprise.

He is passionate about applying artificial intelligence to transportation, Mohan is dedicated to advancing intelligent, efficient, and sustainable urban mobility solutions.

For more information about this topic please contact Mohan by email m.ai@unsw.edu.au

Ashutosh is an international PhD candidate at 91É«ÇéƬ Sydney’s Research Centre for Integrated Transport Innovation (rCITI), where he conducts research under the supervision of Professor Vinayak Dixit and Dr Divya Nair.

His research focuses on improving urban evacuation planning during natural disasters by modelling the complex interactions between people, infrastructure, and different vehicle technologies.

His doctoral research explores how conventional, autonomous, and electric vehicles perform during large-scale evacuations in dense urban environments. Using advanced transportation simulation techniques and quantum computing approaches, Ashutosh aims to address time-critical challenges such as routing efficiency and resource allocation under emergency conditions. The ultimate goal of his work is to develop evacuation strategies that reduce risk, improve system reliability, and help protect human lives during disasters.

Ashutosh completed his Master of Science (Research) at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi in 2024, following a Bachelor of Technology from the National Institute of Technology, Hamirpur in 2021. During his master’s degree, his research centred on transportation safety, including the application of machine learning and natural language processing to crash data analysis. His work has been published in Scientific Reports, and he has research accepted for presentation at TRB 2026.

Driven by curiosity and real-world impact, Ashutosh is passionate about using emerging technologies to create safer, more resilient transportation systems for the future.

For more information about this topic please contact Ashutosh by email a.ashutosh@unsw.edu.au

Annisa is an international PhD candidate from Indonesia at 91É«ÇéƬ Sydney’s Research Centre for Integrated Transport Innovation (rCITI), and comes from Indonesia. She completed her Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering in 2010 and her Master’s degree in 2015. Her PhD is supervised by Dr Elnaz Irannezhad, Professor Taha Hossein Rashidi, and Dr Seyed Hossein Hosseini.

Annisa’s research focuses on understanding the decision-making processes of road freight operators in Australia, particularly in relation to decarbonising heavy-duty vehicles. As the road freight sector is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, her work aims to support Australia’s emissions reduction targets by examining how operational efficiency, cost considerations, infrastructure availability, regulatory settings, and sustainability goals influence freight operators’ adoption of low- and zero-emission trucks.

She uses a systems-thinking approach to understand how different parts of the freight system interact with each other. Her goal is to build a practical decision-support tool that can help policymakers design better strategies to reduce fuel use and emissions in freight transport.

Before commencing her PhD, Annisa worked as a junior lecturer in construction engineering management and contributed to research in smart mobility and toll road evaluation. Passionate about sustainability and equity in STEM, she also hopes to support and inspire women pursuing careers in civil engineering.

For more information about this topic please contact Annisa by email annisa@unsw.edu.au