Bo Zou, PhD

The main goal of my research is to create new knowledge and advance the scientific frontiers — on both theoretical and empirical fronts — on transportation and related infrastructure systems performance. To achieve this goal, I conduct trans-disciplinary research by developing new and adapting existing methodologies and modeling tools with roots in an array of foundational fields such as civil systems, operations research, machine learning and AI, microeconomics, and statistics. I am particularly interested in exploring, understanding, leveraging, and quantifying the impacts of emerging and disruptive technologies (for example, Advanced Air Mobility, connected and automated vehicles, and crowdsourcing, to name just a few) on transportation systems planning, design, deployment, operation, management, and policy-making for more intelligent, efficient, sustainable, equitable, and inclusive movements of people and freight, which ultimately contribute to better progression of the human society.

My research has received support from a number of international, federal, state, and local agencies and organizations including the World Bank, the National Science Foundation (NSF), the US Department of Transportation (USDOT), the US Department of Energy (DOE), NASA, the Transportation Research Board (TRB) of the National Academies, the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), the California and Illinois Departments of Transportation, and the City of Chicago. Currently, I serve as Director for Technology Transfer and Commercialization for the USDOT-funded Center for Freight Transportation for Efficient & Resilient Supply Chain. I have been active in the professional society serving many editorial roles such as: Associate Editor of Journal of Air Transport Management; Associate Editor of Transportation Letters; Handling Editor of Transportation Research Record; Editor of TRB Freight Transportation Planning and Logistics (AT015) Committee; Editorial Board Editor of Transportation Research Part B: Methodological; Editorial Board member of Transportation Research Parts C: Emerging Technologies, Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Transport Policy, and Transport Economics and Management; and Guest Associate Editor of INFORMS Service Science. I also serve as Lead of the Editorial Board of the TRB Freight Transportation Planning and Logistics (AT015) committee, and a standing committee member of TRB AT015 and the TRB Transportation Network Modeling (AEP40) committees.

Current members of my research group

Heeseung Shon, Postdoc, 2023-present (PhD from Korean Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KAIST))

Ziyu Qiu, PhD student, 2023-present (MS from Northwestern University; BS from Central South University)

Danesh Hosseinpanahi, PhD student, 2023-present (MS from Isfahan University of Technology; BS from University of Kurdistan)

Pooria Choobchian, Research Associate, 2024-present (PhD from University of Illinois Chicago)

Daniel Perez, MS candidate, 2022-present (BS from University of Illinois Chicago)

Former members of my research group

Pooria Choobchian, PhD, 2018-2024, current job: Research Associate, Sharma & Associates and University of Illinois Chicago

Nahid Parvez Farazi, PhD, 2018-2023, current job: Senior Analyst, United Airlines

Limon Barua, PhD, 2018-2023, current job: Postdoc, Argonne National Laboratory

Tanvir Ahamed, PhD, 2017-2022, current job: Operations Research Engineer, Wheels Up

Yu Lin, Visiting PhD student, 2019-2020, current job: Assistant Professor, Ningbo University

Zhe Zheng, Visiting PhD student, 2019-2021, current job: Data Scientist, Alibaba Group

Mohamadhossein Noruzoliaee, PhD, 2013-2018, current job: Olegario Vazquez Rana Endowed Assistant Professor, Univ. of Texas Rio Grande Valley

Nabin Kafle, PhD, 2013-2017, current job: Staff Data Scientist, Walmart

Ahmadreza Talebian, PhD, 2013-2016, current job: Assistant Professor, Isfahan University of Technology

Ruyi Li, Visiting Scholar, 2013, current job: Deputy Director of the Board of Directors Office, Chongqing Airport Group

Air Transportation (including Advanced Air Mobility (AAM), Airline Operations, and Air Traffic Management)

1. Farazi, N., Zou, B., 2024. Planning electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOL)-based package delivery with community noise impact considerations. Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review 189, 103661.
2. Zheng, Z., Zou, B., Wei, W., Tian, W., 2023. A data-light and trajectory-based machine learning approach for online prediction of flight time of arrival. Aerospace 10 (8), 675.
3. Liu, K., Zheng, Z., Zou, B., Hansen, M., 2023. Airborne flight time: A comparative analysis between the U.S. and China. Journal of Air Transport Management 107, 102341.
4. Li, A., Hansen, M., Zou, B., 2022. Traffic management and resource allocation for UAV-based parcel delivery in low-altitude urban space. Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies 143, 103808.
5. Guo, Y., Hu, M., Zou, B., Hansen, M., Zhang, Y., Xie, H., 2022. Air traffic flow management integrating separation management and ground holding: an efficiency-equity bi-objective perspective. Transportation Research Part B: Methodological 155, 394-423.
6. Zheng, Z., Wei, W., Zou, B., Hu, M., 2020. How late does your flight depart? A quantile regression approach for a Chinese case study. Sustainability 12 (24), 10553.
7. Kafle, N., Zou, B., 2016. Modeling flight delay propagation: a new analytical-econometric approach. Transportation Research Part B: Methodological 93, 520-542.
8. Chang, Y.T., Park, K., Zou, B., Kafle, N., 2016. Substitutability between two financing options in the U.S. airports: a dynamic network DEA analysis. Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review 88, 76-93.
9. Noruzoliaee, M., Zou, B., Zhang, A., 2015. Airport privatization in a multi-airport region: implications for airport capacity and pricing. Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review 77, 45-60.
10. Soler, M., Zou, B., Hansen, M., 2014. Flight trajectory design in the presence of contrails: application of a multiphase mixed-integer optimal control approach. Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies 48, 172-194.
11. Zou, B., Hansen, M., 2014. Flight delay impact on airfare and flight frequency: a comprehensive assessment. Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review 69, 54-74.
12. Zou, B., Elke, M., Hansen, M., Kafle, N., 2014. Evaluating air carrier fuel efficiency in the U.S. airline industry. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice 59, 306-330.
13. Swaroop, P., Zou, B., Ball, M., Hansen, M., 2012. M. Do more U.S. airports need slot controls? A welfare based approach to determine slot levels. Transportation Research Part B: Methodological 46 (9), 1239-1259.
14. Zou, B., Hansen, M., 2012. Impact of operational performance on air carrier cost structure: evidence from US airlines. Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review 48 (6), 1032-1048.
15. Zou, B., Hansen, M., 2012. Flight delays, capacity investment and social welfare under air transport supply-demand equilibrium. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice 46 (6), 965-980.

Freight Transportation and Logistics

1. Barua, L., Zou, B., Choobchian, P., 2023 Maximizing truck platooning participation with preferences. Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review 179, 103297
2. Zou, B., Kafle, N., 2023. Designing mechanisms for crowdsourced urban parcel delivery. Transportation Letters: The International Journal of Transportation Research 15 (8), 992-1010.
3. Barua, L., Zou, B., Zhou, Y., Liu, Y., 2023. Modeling household online shopping demand in the U.S.: A machine learning approach and comparative investigation between 2009 and 2017. Transportation 50 (2), 437-476.
4. Farazi, N., Zou, B., 2022. Tulabandhula, T. Dynamic crowdshipping for on-demand urban parcel delivery: A double dueling deep Q-network approach. Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review 166, 102890.
5. Farazi, N., Zou, B., Sriraj, P.S., Dirks, L., Lewis, E., Manzanarez, J.P., 2022. State-level performance measures and database development for inland waterway freight transportation: A US context and a case study. Research in Transportation Business & Management 45, 100866.
6. Ahamed, T., Zou, B., Farazi, N., Tulabandhula, T., 2021. Deep reinforcement learning for crowdsourced urban delivery. Transportation Research Part B: Methodological 152, 227-257.
7. Noruzoliaee, M., Zou, B., Zhou, Y., 2021. Truck platooning in the U.S. national road network: A system-level modeling approach. Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review 145, 102200.
8. Sun, X., Wu, H., Abdolmaleki, M., Yin, Y., Zou, B., 2021. Investigating the potential of truck platooning on energy savings: An empirical study on the U.S. national highway freight network. Transportation Research Record 2675 (12), 784-796.
9. Farazi, N., Zou, B., Sriraj, P.S., 2021. Survey of practices on performance measurement of U.S. inland waterway freight transportation. Transportation Research Record 2675 (5), 136-148.
10. Barua, L., Zou, B., Zhou, Y., 2020. Machine learning for international freight transportation management: A comprehensive review. Research in Transportation Business & Management 34, 100453.
11. Park, K., Chang, Y.T., Zou, B., 2018. Emission control under private port operator duopoly. Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review 114, 40-65.
12. Kafle, N., Zou, B., Lin, J., 2017. Design and modeling of a crowdsource-enabled system for urban parcel relay and delivery. Transportation Research Part B: Methodological 99, 62-82.
13. Pagano, A., Zou, B., Sanchez, O., Noruzoliaee, M. 2016. The demand and supply of trans-oceanic sea routes: the case of east Asia-US east coast container trade. International Journal of Decision Science, Risk and Management 6 (3), 205-224.

Urban Human Mobility 

1. Choobchian, P., Mohammadi, A., Zou, B., Hair, J., Nejad, M., Shin, J., Sriraj, P.S., 2024. Calibrating walkability indicators with commute walk trips: A structural equation modeling approach. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice 179, 103896.
2. Zhu, D., Xie, T., Liu, Y., Zou, B., Rujeerapaiboon, N., 2023. Optimal deployment of an equitable CAV platoonable corridor on road networks with mixed traffic flow. Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies 157, 104399.
3. Noruzoliaee, M., Zou, B., 2022. One-to-many matching and section-based formulation of autonomous ridesharing equilibrium. Transportation Research Part B: Methodological 155, 72-100.
4. Shen, H., Zou, B., Lin, J., 2020. Modeling travel mode choice of young people with e-hailing ride service in Nanjing, China. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment 78, 102216.
5. Noruzoliaee, M., Zou, B., Liu, Y., 2018. Roads in transition: integrated modeling of a manufacturer-traveler-road infrastructure system in a mixed autonomous/human driving environment. Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies 90, 307-333.
6. Zou, B., Kafle, N., Wolfson, O., Lin, J., 2015. A mechanism design based approach to solving parking slot assignment in the information era. Transportation Research Part B: Methodological 81, 631-653.

Rail/Multimodal Transportation

1. Choobchian, P., Roscoe, G., Dick, T., Zou, B., Work, D., Zhang, K., Wang, Y., Hung, Y.-C., 2023. Leveraging connected vehicle platooning technology to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of train fleeting under moving blocks. Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies 148, 104026.
2. Talebian, A., Zou, B., Hansen, M., 2018. Assessing the impacts of state-supported rail services on local population and employment: a California case study. Transport Policy 63, 108-121.
3. Talebian, A., Zou, B., Peivandi, A., 2018. Capacity allocation in vertically integrated rail systems: a bargaining approach. Transportation Research Part B: Methodological 107, 167-191.
4. Talebian, A., Zou, B., 2016. A multi-stage air-rail competition: focus on rail agency objective, train technology and station access. Journal of Rail Transport Planning & Management 6 (1), 48-66.
5. Talebian, A., Zou, B., 2015. Integrated modeling of high performance passenger and freight train planning on shared-use corridors in the US. Transportation Research Part B: Methodological 82, 114-140.

Infrastructure Management

1. Barua, L., Zou, B., 2022. Planning maintenance and rehabilitation activities for airport pavements: A combined supervised machine learning and reinforcement learning approach. International Journal of Transportation Science and Technology 11, 423-435.
2. Barua, L., Zou, B., Noruzoliaee, M., Derrible, S., 2021. A gradient boosting approach to understanding airport runway and taxiway pavement deterioration. International Journal of Pavement Engineering, 22 (13), 1673-1687.
3. Noruzoliaee, M., Zou, B., 2019. Airfield infrastructure management using network-level optimization and stochastic duration modeling. Infrastructures 4 (1), 1-20.
4. Nazari, F., Noruzoliaee, M., Zou, B., Mohammadian, A., 2017. Optimal facility-specific inspection and maintenance decisions under measurement uncertainty: unifying framework. ASCE Journal of Infrastructure Systems 23 (4), 4017036.
5. Zou, B., Madanat, S., 2012. Incorporating delay effect into airport runway pavement management systems. ASCE Journal of Infrastructure Systems 18 (3), 183-193.

For a complete list of my publications, please visit my Google Scholar page.

Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, 2012
Diplôme d’Ingénieur, Ecole Centrale Nantes, 2007
M.S., Tsinghua University, 2007
B.E., Tsinghua University, 2005