On October 17th, the School of Urban Railway Transportation invited Dr. Jin Zihao from the Boston Metropolitan Planning Organization in the United States to give an academic lecture. The lecture, titled Exploratory Urban Transportation Travel Models, took place in Room 8A529 of the Modern Transportation Engineering Center and attracted a large number of students and faculty. The lecture was hosted by Professor Wang Lei, the Vice Dean of the college.
At the beginning of the meeting, Professor Wang Lei expressed gratitude to Dr. Jin Zihao for delivering a high-level academic lecture to the faculty and students of our college. He provided an introduction to Dr. Jin's background, highlighting him as an outstanding alum of our university who has achieved remarkable research results during his studies and work abroad. Professor Wang emphasized Dr. Jin's forward-thinking research ideas and innovative mindset, encouraging everyone to cherish this valuable opportunity.
During the session, Dr. Jin introduced the challenges faced by traditional urban transportation travel models in the face of new technology and demand. He discussed two popular directions in handling these challenges: improving the accuracy of a single model using large-scale data and assisting policy decisions based on the results of extensive sampling from traditional models. The presentation focused on the practical application of an exploratory modeling approach to address uncertainties in long-term urban planning in the Boston area, covering aspects such as architecture, characteristics, and the practicality of the models. Dr. Jin also highlighted the improvements in model interpretability and scalability brought about by cloud computing and visualization technology.
During the Q&A session, teachers and students actively posed questions. Dr. Jin not only addressed questions about the mechanisms of model construction and visualization technology but also engaged in discussions on time management in student life, sharing insights and methods based on his own experiences. The academic atmosphere on-site was intense, with teachers and students paying serious attention. Attendees not only gained insights into cutting-edge knowledge in the field but were also inspired by Dr. Jin's solid academic foundation and innovative scientific spirit, resulting in a fruitful and enriching experience.
Dr. Jin Zihao, a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the United States, is currently employed as a data scientist at the Metropolitan Planning Organization in Boston, USA. His research interests encompass traffic simulation, signal control, traffic planning, cloud computing, big data analysis, and visualization. Dr. Jin has twice been awarded first place in the Wisconsin-Foxconn Smart Cities, Smart Future competition.