Hesham A. Rakha, Ph.D., P.Eng.

Professor, Charles E. Via, Jr. Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Virginia Tech
Director, Center for Sustainable Mobility at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute

Office Tel.: (540) 231-1505 or (540) 231-4101.
E-mail: hrakha@vt.edu.

Brief Bio

Dr. Rakha is a Professor at the Charles E. Via, Jr. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Director of the Center for Sustainable Mobility (CSM) at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI). He is a Professional Engineer in Ontario and a member of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and the Transportation Research Board (TRB). He is on the Editorial Board of the Transportation Letters: The International Journal of Transportation Research, IET Intelligent Transport Systems Journal, and the International Journal of Transportation Science and Technology. In addition, he is an Associate Editor for the IEEE Transactions of Intelligent Transportation Systems and the Journal of Intelligent Transportation Systems: Technology, Planning and Operations.

Dr. Rakha has authored/co-authored a total of 240 refereed publications of which 111 are fully refereed journal publications. He has made over 250 conference presentations in the areas of traffic flow theory, traffic modeling and simulation, dynamic traffic assignment, traffic control, transportation energy and environmental modeling, and transportation safety modeling.

Dr. Rakha has conducted projects for Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), Queen’s University, Parsons Brinkerhoff, Burgess and Niple, Morrison Hershfield Ltd., the Parsons Group, the Transpo Group, NAVTEQ, and Harmonia Inc. Dr. Rakha has worked directly with a number of public sector clients that include the Ontario Ministry of Transportation, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), the National Park Service (NPS), the Virginia Council for Transportation Innovation and Research (VCTIR), the Virginia Department for Environmental Quality (DEQ), the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and the National Academy of Science.

Educational Background

• Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt, Civil Engineering (Honors), B.Sc. (1987)
• Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada, Civil Engineering, M.Sc. (1990)
• Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada, Civil Engineering, Ph.D. (1993)
• Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada, Civil Engineering, Postdoctorate (1993~95)

Appointments

• Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, June 2007~Present.
• Associate Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Aug. 2003~June 2007.
• Assistant Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1999~2003.
• Director, Center for Sustainable Mobility, Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, Aug. 2004~Present.
• Leader, Transportation Systems and Operations Group, Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, Aug. 1999~Aug. 2004.
• Research Scientist, Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, Sept. 1997~Aug. 1999.
• Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Queen’s University, Sept. 1995~Sept. 1997.
• Transportation Systems Analyst, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), Sept. 1995~Sept. 1997.
• Project Manager, M. Van Aerde & Associates Ltd., Sept. 1993~Sept. 1997.

Professional Activities

• Associate Editor, IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems.
• Associate Editor, Journal of Intelligent Transportation Systems: Technology, Planning and Operations.
• Editorial Board, Transportation Letters: The International Journal of Transportation Research, IET Intelligent Transport Systems Journal, and the International Journal of Transportation Science and Technology.
• Editor, Special Issue of IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems (2006).

• Associate Editor, 15th IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITSC), Sept. 17-20, 2012, Anchorage, Alaska, USA.
• Associate Editor, 14th IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITSC), Sept. 17-20, 2011, Washington DC, USA.
• Co-Chair, 13th IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITSC), Sept. 17-20, 2010, Madiera, Portugal.
• Editor, 9th IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITSC), Sept. 17-20, 2006, Toronto, Canada.
• Editor, Special Issue of Journal of Computer-Aided Civil and Infrastructure Engineering on Traffic Computational Models (2006).
• Associate Editor, 8th IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITSC), Sept. 13-16, 2005, Vienna, Austria.
• Associate Editor, 7th IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITSC), October 3-6, 2004, Washington D.C., USA.

• Member, Professional Engineers of Ontario (PEO).
• Member, Egyptian Syndicate of Engineers (No. 281/14).
• Member, American Society for Civil Engineers (ASCE).
• Member, Institute for Transportation Engineers (ITE).
• Member, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
• Member, Transportation Research Board (TRB).
• Member, Transportation Research Board Committee on Air Quality.
• Member, Transportation Research Board AHB45 Committee on Traffic Flow Theory & Characteristics.
• Member, ITS America Benefits Evaluation and Cost Committee.
• Friend, Transportation Research Board Committee on Highway Capacity and Quality of Service.
  

Awards

Last Updated: January 25, 2013