About Me

I combine behavioral science and computational intelligence to improve how urban transportation systems are planned and operated.

On the human behavior side, I study travel decisions, rider experience, workforce behavior, and organizational decision-making. On the computational side, I work with AI, machine learning, optimization, autonomous mobility. The real power comes from bringing the two together.

For two decades, I have applied this approach to some of the world's most complex transportation systems, working alongside governments, transportation authorities around the globe. I has advised 7 major transportation agencies: Transport for London, Boston MBTA, Chicago Transit Authority, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, Singapore Ministry of Transport, Hong Kong’s MTR, and Japan Railways. The work have helped organizations navigate complex challenges: from policy to autonomous mobility and long-term system transformation.

3 Ways I can help:

1. Lab: I am Professor of Cities and Transportation and Head of the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at MIT. I direct the MIT Urban Mobility Lab, where we conduct frontier research of urban transportation.

2. Forum: I hosts the Mobility Forum, bringing leading minds in transportation together to shape how we move.

3. Memos: I share practical insights on urban transportation systems via my memo.

At MIT

  • Department Head, MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning
  • Professor of Cities and Transportation, 2013 ~ present
    • MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning
    • MIT Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
    • MIT Institute of Data, System and Society

Director, MIT JTL Urban Mobility Lab, 2013 ~ present

Director, MIT Transit Lab, 2014 ~ present

Lead Principal Investigator,  Mens, Manus and Machina

Founder and Director, MIT Mobility Initiative, 2020 ~ present

Co-director, Mobility System Center, MIT Energy Initiative, 2020 ~ 2022

Industry Committees

  • Advisory Board of the Singapore Ministry of Transport’s Autonomous Vehicle Scaling Steering Committee, 2025-present
  • Member, World Economic Forum Global Future Council on the Future of Autonomous Mobility, 2023-present
  • Member, Monash Commission on the Liveable Metropolis, 2020-present
  • Advisory Board Member, Global Partnership for Informal Transportation, 2020-present

Education Committees

  • Chair, MIT Transportation Education Committee which manages two degree programs: Master of Science in Transportation and Interdepartmental PhD in Transportation. 2020-present
  • Member, MIT Energy Council, 2021-present
  • Editorial Board Member, Transportation Research, 2021-present
  • Member, MIT Schwarzman College of Computing, Common Ground Committee, 2020-present
  • Member, MIT Schwarzman College of Computing, AI & Mobility Taskforce, 2020-present

Academic Committees

  • Swiss National Science Foundation, Reviewer of Interdisciplinary Funding Application, 2018-2019
  • Reviewers, Academic Journals in City Planning and Transportation, 2009-present
  • Reviewer, U.S. Department of Energy, Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E), 2014-2015

Publications

To View My full 220+ Peer Reviewed Publication List:

Jinhua Zhao's Google Schoar
About Me