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Dr Dia Adhikari Smith is the Tritium E-Mobility Research Fellow at The University of Queensland’s Dow Centre for Sustainable Engineering Innovation (School of Chemical Engineering) and the Transport Engineering Group (School of Civil Engineering). Her current research focusses on advancing the performance, economics, and uptake of E-Mobility globally, with a particular focus on the decarbonisation of both on-road and non-road heavy vehicles used in transport, construction, and mining sectors in Australia. Dia’s research expertise in low and zero emission heavy vehicles, powered by electric, hydrogen and advanced biofuels, has been demonstrated through several industry and government engagements to deliver decarbonisation feasibility studies, emissions modelling, cost benefit analyses, total cost of ownership scenarios and developing strategic roadmaps and recommended policy packages to achieve net zero emissions. Dia has a PhD in Power and Energy Systems Engineering from Glasgow Caledonian University, UK and worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Centre for Integrated Renewable Energy Generation and Supply, Cardiff University, UK and as a Lecturer at the Grand Canyon University, Phoenix, USA.

Dia's postdoctoral research experience, at Cardiff University, involved in-depth research to investigate Smart Grid network assessment and planning methodologies that would consider type, extent, and pathway of various smart, innovative, and sustainable technology interventions (renewable energy sources, distributed generation, battery storage, electric vehicles, and hydrogen). Dia has worked on different quantitative and qualitative research methods to analyse the factors affecting the diffusion of low and zero emission technologies in the UK and conducted feasibility studies to evaluate the inhibiting factors for Smart Grid transition within the building industry (smart sustainable houses) and the mining sector (electric heavy vehicles, renewable energy sources, and energy storage) in the perspective of users, energy experts, energy providers, respective industries, policymakers, regulators, and the government. Dia's research projects involved close collaboration with Academia, Government and Industry to propose strategic guidelines, evaluate policies, and publish joint work-stream reports, for the successful diffusion of zero-emission technologies and renewable energy systems.

Dr. Mark Hickman is the TAP Chair and Professor of Transport Engineering within the School of Civil Engineering at the University of Queensland. Prof. Hickman has taught courses and performed research in public transit planning and operations, travel demand modelling, and traffic engineering. His areas of research interest and expertise include public transit planning and operations, urban transportation planning and modelling, and the development of sustainable transport innovations and policies.

Jiwon Kim is an Associate Professor in Transport Engineering and the Director of Higher Degree by Research in the School of Civil Engineering at the University of Queensland. She was a DECRA Fellow (2019-2022) sponsored by the Australian Research Council. She joined UQ in 2014 after completing her PhD research at Northwestern University. Prior to joining Northwestern, she worked at Samsung C&T (Engineering & Construction Group). She received Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in civil engineering from Korea University.

Her research interests broadly encompass the application of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML) to enhance prediction, automation, and insight generation in transportation and urban mobility. She is passionate about developing intelligent autonomous systems that facilitate real-time traffic management and control, mobility service optimization, and traveller support. Her current research explores the potential of deep learning, reinforcement learning, and other cutting-edge AI/ML approaches to achieve these objectives.

Dr. Saeed Mohammadian is a postdoctoral research fellow in Transport Engineering. His primary research is on understanding freeway traffic flow dynamics and their safety implication with a special focus on the role of human factors. As part of his doctoral work, he has conducted critical meta-research on the state-of-the-art of macroscopic traffic flow modelling, from both theoretical and practical perspectives. The central part of his doctoral thesis develops unifiable mathematical models of traffic flow dynamics and rear-end crashes and presents new insight into the role of human factors on complex traffic phenomena and traffic safety.

His main work at UQ involves conducting research on driver interactions with connected and automated vehicles and studying the implications for both congestions and crashes. He is currently involved in several research projects related to freeway traffic flow modelling and control and safety assessment. His research outcomes can be explicitly utilized in traffic control research for moving towards faster and safer roads.