Friday, 24 July 2026

PhD School

A dedicated PhD-focused program connected to ISTTT 2026, bringing together early-career researchers, invited speakers, editors, and the AgiMo community for exchange, feedback, and discussion.

Invited Speakers

The PhD School will feature three invited speaker sessions, combined with a poster round for doctoral researchers. Talk titles, speaker affiliations, and room information are listed below.

Photo of MB
Invited speaker

Prof. Dr. Michiel Bliemer

The University of Sydney

The Virtual Road: Driving Simulators in Travel and Driving Behaviour Research

Room 2605

Prof. Dr. Michiel C. J. Bliemer is a transportation researcher specializing in transport planning and network modelling, with research interests covering traffic assignment, route choice, travel behaviour, discrete choice modelling, road pricing, and transport network performance. He is Professor and Chair in Transport Network Modelling at the Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies, University of Sydney Business School, which he joined in 2012. He holds an MSc from the University of Groningen and a PhD from Delft University of Technology. His work connects transport network modelling with behavioural choice modelling, including applications in strategic transport planning, traffic assignment, road pricing, and travel demand analysis. He is also an Associate Editor of Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies.

Photo of Bliemer
Invited speaker

Dr. Anke Ye

Technical University of Munich

From Conceptualization to ISTTT Acceptance: 18 Months, 3 Rounds, and 1 Finish Line

Room 2605

Dr. Anke Ye is a transportation researcher specializing in the modeling and optimization of urban mobility and transport systems, with a focus on emerging services such as on-demand delivery, ride-sharing, and tradable credit schemes. She currently leads the Travel Demand Management research group at the Chair of Traffic Engineering and Control at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), working with Prof. Dr. Klaus Bogenberger. She completed her PhD at Zhejiang University and conducted visiting research at EPFL under Dr. Kenan Zhang and Prof. Nikolaos Geroliminis. Her work draws on transport system modeling, game theory, and data-driven methods, and has been published in Transportation Research Part C and Part E. She has been an active participant in the International Symposium on Transportation and Traffic Theory (ISTTT), contributing both research presentations and ongoing engagement with the community.

Photo of Robert L. Bertini
Invited speaker

Prof. Robert L. Bertini

The University of Alabama

Designing a Life in Transportation: the Ph.D. and Beyond

Room 2605

Prof. Robert L. Bertini, P.E. is Professor and Head of the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering at The University of Alabama, where he also serves as Chief Transportation Science Research and Development Officer with the Alabama Transportation Institute. He previously founded the Portland State University Intelligent Transportation Systems Laboratory and the Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium, and has served as director or associate director for several National and Tier One University Transportation Research Centers. He also served as Deputy Administrator for Research and Innovative Technology at the U.S. Department of Transportation, leading the Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office and supporting international collaboration with the European Commission and Japan. His work spans transportation systems, intelligent transportation systems, traffic flow theory, transportation operations, multimodal data, performance measurement, modeling, and prediction. He is a recipient of the NSF CAREER Award, a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Institute of Transportation Engineers, and a Senior Member of IEEE.

Agenda

Friday program

Friday agenda for the PhD School, including invited talk titles and linked room information.

09:00
Coffee and RegistrationArrival, informal welcome, and light refreshments.Room 1713
10:00
The Virtual Road: Driving Simulators in Travel and Driving Behaviour ResearchProf. Dr. Michiel BliemerRoom 2605
11:00
From Conceptualization to ISTTT Acceptance: 18 Months, 3 Rounds, and 1 Finish LineDr. Anke YeRoom 2605
12:00
LunchLunch break and informal discussion.Room 1713
13:00
Poster Session IPoster round with PhD presentations and feedback.Room 1713
15:00
Designing a Life in Transportation: the Ph.D. and BeyondProf. Robert L. BertiniRoom 2605
AgiMo

Supported by AgiMo

AgiMo is the DFG-funded Transregional Collaborative Research Centre TRR 408 on data-driven agile planning for responsible mobility. It is the only consortium of its type, bringing together leading German mobility, transport, planning, data, and modelling expertise to rethink how mobility systems can be planned in a more responsible, evidence-based, and participatory way.

The consortium develops methods that connect mobility behaviour, traffic systems and services, responsible mobility metrics, participatory planning, traffic control, and the open AgiMo Digital Twin as a virtual laboratory for future mobility scenarios.

Applying institution

Technische Universität Dresden

Co-applying institution

Technical University of Munich

Participating universities

Technische Universität Berlin and Technische Universität Braunschweig

Participating institution

German Aerospace Center (DLR), Institute of Transport Research

Poster sessions

Poster session information

The poster sessions are intended as an interactive format for PhD researchers to present ongoing work, receive constructive feedback, and discuss methods, results, and open research questions with peers and senior researchers. The poster round allows the group to keep discussions focused and give presenters enough visibility during the morning program. The poster format and size is A0 portrait.

To participate with a poster, please indicate your participation during the conference registration or send us an email at info(at)isttt2026.org with your name and a short note that you would like to participate in the poster session. Please contact us before 15 July 2026.

Format

A Poster Session planned. The session will include time for short explanations and discussion.

Participation

Please specify poster participation in the registration form or email us with your name before 15 July 2026.

Purpose

The focus is on exchange rather than formal presentation. Participants are encouraged to discuss research ideas, challenges, and next steps.