Yiling Zhang Awarded Two Seed Grants from the Center for Transportation Studies

Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISyE) Assistant Professor Yiling Zhang has been awarded two seed grants from the Center for Transportation Studies.

The grants, amounting to $100,000, will be dedicated to two separate studies.

The first study will analyze crowdsourcing delivery drivers in the case of last mile delivery, an aspect of the delivery process wherein goods are transported from a business, warehouse, or separate location to the customer's residence. Zhang will collaborate with ISyE Department Head Saif Benjaafar with the intention of developing a last mile delivery model that could be adopted by businesses and other organizations around the world.

The second study will evaluate electric transit, specifically the electric bus lines used by Metro Transit in the Twin Cities area. Zhang, along with a multidiciplinary team of experts from the University of Minnesota, will develop a blueprint that could be used by Metro Transit to strategically place charging stations for buses along bus routes. Once again, Zhang anticipates the model developed by her and her team could be adopted by other transit operators in cities across the United States.

Zhang joined the ISyE Department in 2019 after receiving her Ph.D. in industrial and operations engineering from the University of Michigan. More information about Zhang and her research interests can be found on her ISyE Department profile.

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