Hesham A. Rakha, Ph.D., P.Eng.

Professor, Charles Via Jr. Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Virginia Tech
Director, Center for Sustainable Mobility at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute

Office Tel.: (540) 231-1505 or (540) 231-4101.
E-mail: hrakha@vt.edu.

Brief Bio

Dr. Rakha is a Professor at the Charles Via Jr. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Director of the Center for Sustainable Mobility at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute. He is a Professional Engineer in Ontario and is a member of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and the Transportation Research Board (TRB).

In research, Dr. Rakha has authored/co-authored a total of 133 refereed publications of which 64 are fully refereed journal publications. In consulting, Dr. Rakha has worked as a consultant for Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), Queen’s University, Parsons Brinkerhoff, Burgess and Niple, Morrison Hershfield Ltd., the Parsons Group, and the Transpo Group. Dr. Rakha has worked directly with a number of public sector clients that include the Ontario Ministry of Transportation, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), the National Park Service (NPS), the Virginia Transportation Research Council (VTRC), the Virginia Department for Environmental Quality (DEQ), and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).

Dr. Rakha’s main areas of research include traffic flow theory, traffic modeling and simulation, dynamic traffic assignment, traffic control, traffic energy and environmental modeling, and transportation safety modeling.

Educational Background

• Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt, Civil Engineering (Honors), B.Sc. (1987)
• Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada, Civil Engineering, M.Sc. (1990)
• Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada, Civil Engineering, Ph.D. (1993)
• Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada, Civil Engineering, Postdoctorate (1993~95)

Appointments

• Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, June 2007~Present.
• Associate Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Aug. 2003~June 2007.
• Assistant Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1999~2003.
• Director, Center for Sustainable Mobility, Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, Aug. 2004~Present.
• Leader, Transportation Systems and Operations Group, Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, Aug. 1999~Aug. 2004.
• Research Scientist, Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, Sept. 1997~Aug. 1999.
• Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Queen’s University, Sept. 1995~Sept. 1997.
• Transportation Systems Analyst, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), Sept. 1995~Sept. 1997.
• Project Manager, M. Van Aerde & Associates Ltd., Sept. 1993~Sept. 1997.

Professional Activities

• Editor, Special Issue of Journal of Computer-Aided Civil and Infrastructure Engineering on Traffic Computational Models
• Editor, IEEE Transactions on ITS
• Member, Professional Engineers of Ontario (PEO)
• Member, Egyptian Syndicate of Engineers
• Member, American Society for Civil Engineers (ASCE)
• Member, Institute for Transportation Engineers (ITE)
• Member, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
• Member, Transportation Research Board (TRB)
• Member, Transportation Research Board Committee on Air Quality
• Friend, Transportation Research Board Committee on Highway Capacity and Quality of Service
• Member, Transportation Research Board AHB45 Committee on Traffic Flow Theory & Characteristics
• Member, ITS America Benefits Evaluation and Cost Committee
  

Awards

Last Updated: March 14, 2008