Mobility Network welcomes Dr. Lisa Lorena Losada Rojas as Postdoctoral Fellow supervised by Professor Eric Miller. She will research and report on potential impacts of zero-occupant vehicles operating within the City of Toronto in support of the development of the City of Toronto’s Automated Vehicles Tactical Plan and upcoming Micromobility Strategy.
Lisa was born in Florencia, Caquetá, Colombia. She obtained her bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering at the National University of Colombia in 2016. She received her Master's and PhD in Civil Engineering from Purdue University. During her graduate studies, Lisa was awarded eight local and national recognitions, such as the 2018-19 ITE Edward J. Cox Memorial Transportation Scholarship Award, 2018-2019 WTS Maggie Walsh Leadership Legacy Scholarship, and the 2021-2022 Bilsland Dissertation Fellowship, 2021 CEE Rising Stars attendee at MIT, among others.
Her research interests include transportation planning, accessibility, active travel, emerging mobility, public health, rural transportation, and sustainability.
Lisa comments on why she decided to join Mobility Network in this role:
"Personally, I have always followed the work of Dr. Eric Miller. Since I was a young researcher, I was inspired by the transportation modelling team's advances in understanding transportation behavior in the GTA and beyond.
Professionally, the project I will work on, "Understanding the impacts of zero-occupant automated vehicles," will inform the City of Toronto on the potential implications of ZOVs and will have profound consequences on the decisions to mitigate those impacts. It is a project I will see reflected in future investments in the city, which excites me greatly because Toronto is one of my favorite cities.
U of T is also one of the top universities in transportation research—and what better way to start my academic career than with a fellowship from this highly respected institution?