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2026 Transportation Engineering Seminar Series
All seminars are free and open to the public. Seminars are typically held on Fridays from 10:50 - 11:50 AM Central Time. They are held in person at Kiewit Hall (KH) Room A510, and remotely in Peter Kiewit Institute (PKI) Room 160 in Omaha. External guests may also join via Zoom.
Join seminar via Zoom at: https://unl.zoom.us/j/93635821617
Sept 4, 2026
Nobody Drives Like the Model Says: A Quantum-Inspired Representation of Driver Behavior
Mohammad Elayan
Ph.D. Student, Civil & Environmental Engineering (Transportation Engineering), University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Driver behavior is complex, varying across individuals and changing with traffic conditions and experience. This talk introduces a quantum-inspired framework that uses artificial intelligence to model driving behavior as a dynamic, evolving process. The approach improves the representation of human decision-making in traffic simulations and offers new opportunities for developing safer, more adaptive autonomous vehicles.
Sept 11, 2026
Optimizing the Location of Electric Vehicle Charging Stations
Dr. Akmal Abdelfatah
Professor, Civil Engineering, American University of Sharjah (AUS)
As electric vehicle adoption grows, transportation agencies must determine where charging stations can best serve drivers while minimizing travel and wait times. This seminar presents a simulation-optimization approach that models EV operations, charging behavior, and traffic conditions to identify optimal charging locations. The research uses the DYNASMART traffic simulation platform and evaluates different levels of EV adoption to support more efficient and accessible charging infrastructure planning.
Sept 18, 2026
Beyond LLMs: AI Agents for Transportation and the Built Environment
Dr. Kyungki Kim
Assistant Professor, Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Recent advances in large language models and multimodal AI are creating new opportunities for transportation and built-environment research. This talk provides an overview of AI agents that combine language models, computer vision, engineering tools, and robotic systems to support tasks such as construction inspection, engineering drawing interpretation, and multimodal data analysis. The presentation will also examine the capabilities and current limitations of modern AI systems in real-world engineering applications.
Sept 25, 2026
Exporting Abundance, Facing Scarcity: The Nebraska Food Paradox
Dr. Mary Emery
Rural Prosperity Nebraska Director & Professor Agricultural Leadership, Education & Communication, Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Raquel Johnson
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Agricultural Leadership, Education & Communication, Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Nebraska is a major agricultural producer, yet much of what is grown in the state does not directly support local food access. This seminar explores how fragmented regional food systems affect farmers, processors, consumers, and local markets. We will explore challenges and innovation opportunities that can help build a stronger, sustainable, regional food system.
Oct 2, 2026
Prioritizing Projects and Finding Funding: A New Approach for the Omaha Metro Region
Jim Boerner
Transportation Planner, Metropolitan Area Planning Agency (MAPA)
This seminar will examine how the Omaha metropolitan region is addressing the challenge of transportation needs that exceed available funding. The presentation will highlight recent planning studies and introduce the Transformative Regional Investment Prioritization System (TRIPS), a regional decision-making framework developed through competitive grant funding to support transportation project prioritization and investment decisions.