Henry Posner, Anne Molloy, and Robert and Christine Pietrandrea Associate Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Heinz College
Courtesy Appointment, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Sean Qian is the Henry Posner, Anne Molloy, and Robert and Christine Pietrandrea Associate Professor jointly appointed at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (major) and Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy (minor) at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU).
He directs the Mobility Data Analytics Center (MAC) at CMU. Qian’s research interest lies in large-scale dynamic network modeling and big data analytics for multi-modal transportation systems, in development of intelligent transportation systems (ITS) and in understanding infrastructure system interdependency.
His research has been supported by a number of public agencies and private firms, such as NSF, DOE, FHWA, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED), IBM, Benedum Foundation, and Hillman Foundation.
Professor Qian serves an associate editor for Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies, and an editorial board editor for Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, and is an active member of the Network Modeling Committee of Transportation Research Board.
He is the recipient of the NSF CAREER award in 2018 and Greenshields Prize from the Transportation Research Board in 2017. Qian was a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford University from 2011 to 2013, and received his Ph.D. degree in civil engineering at the University of California, Davis in 2011 and his MS degree in statistics at Stanford University in 2012.
2012 MS, Statistics, Stanford University
2011 Ph.D., Civil Engineering, UC Davis
2006 MS, Civil Engineering, Tsinghua University
2004 BS, Civil Engineering, Tsinghua University
The Business Journals
Sean Qian was quoted on the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.
Fujitsu
CEE’s Sean Qian was mentioned in a story about recent advances in social digital twin technology, a joint research effort between CMU and Fujitsu Limited.
Civil and Environmental Engineering
A collaboration between Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) and Fujitsu, a global leader in technology solutions and services, is advancing digital twin technologies in southwestern Pennsylvania to address the recent challenges posed by aging infrastructure.
PITA
A collaboration between Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) and Fujitsu, a global leader in technology solutions and services, is advancing digital twin technologies in southwestern Pennsylvania.
Civil and Environmental Engineering
CEE's Sean Qian and his doctoral students are collaborating with Morgan State University (MSU) researchers to predict the impacts of climate change on transportation systems. The work not only creates an early-warning notification system that detects impending infrastructure problems, but also allows Qian’s students to learn from MSU faculty and researchers who are world-class leaders in hazard modeling.
CMU Engineering
Optimal ride-hailing pricing (ORHP) has potential to improve transportation network performance in a more equitable manner than current rider behavior interventions.
CMU Engineering
A team lead by Costa Samaras and Thiago Rodrigues has shown that using small drones for the last mile of package deliveries uses less energy and creates fewer emissions than conventional means.
CMU Engineering
Causal modeling of the relationship between work zones and car accidents informs practices and policies that improve safety on the road.
Route Fifty
CEE’s Sean Qian spoke to Route Fifty about his team’s recent study of road accidents in work zones. The study found that crashes are less frequent in shorter work zones and tend to increase during the day.
Observer-Reporter
CEE’s Sean Qian and his Mobility Data Analytics Center (MAC) will be assisted in transportation surveys of residents for Carnegie Mellon’s Rural County Mobility Platform (RAMP) project by representatives from Waynesburg University’s Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership.
US Department of Transportation
CEE’s Sean Qian has received a two-year grant from the United States Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration to create an AI-powered system to predict and respond to non-recurrent traffic events like accidents, severe weather, and road maintenance, among others.
CMU Engineering
Sean Qian and Weiran Yao have used data from twitter to solve one of the greatest hurdles in traffic prediction.
