Dr. Ali Hajbabaie is an assistant professor in the Department of Civil, Construction, & Environmental Engineering at North Carolina State University (NCSU) who specializes in traffic operations and control. He and his team develop distributed optimization algorithms for real-time traffic control in transportation networks focusing on traffic signal control, speed harmonization, traffic metering, and traffic assignment.

His work has produced a variety of methods that relate to emerging communications and automation such as trajectory control of connected automated vehicles in signalized intersections, signal-free intersections, roundabouts, and urban street networks.

The figure below depicts Dr. Hajbabaie’s work in relation to connectivity and automation technologies.

As for Dr. Hajbabaie’s research program, it is specifically geared toward reducing congestion in transportation networks by developing traffic control methods that benefit from cooperation between system controllers and users. The work he produces is beneficial for other transportation-related researchers who are interested in building upon the algorithms he creates, including state Departments of Transportation or agencies interested in improving traffic operations.

Since 2014, Dr. Hajbabaie has served as the Secretary of the Transportation Research Board’s (TRB) Standing Committee on Work Zone Traffic Control and is Chair of TRB’s Asset Management Subcommittee of the Traffic Signal Systems Committee. At NCSU, he teaches Traffic Engineering, Advanced Traffic Control, Traffic Flow Theory, and Traffic Operations.

Dr. Hajbabaie is currently leading STRIDE Project B4 – Integrated Corridor Management: Cooperative Signal Control with Freeway Operations and Ramp Metering.