Xiang Liu

Associate Professor

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Phone:848-445-2868
Fax:732-445-0577
Email:xiang.liu@rutgers.edu
Office:RWH 428D
Website: rail.rutgers.edu

Dr. Xiang Liu is an Associate Professor in Transportation Engineering at Rutgers University. Dr. Liu and his students are focusing on three research areas: 1) Smart Infrastructure – data-driven infrastructure asset management using sensing technologies and artificial intelligence; 2) Smart Mobility – optimal mechanism design for shared mobility and smart cities; and 3) Smart Logistics – freight railroads, autonomous trains, energy transportation and hazardous material transport risk management. Besides conducting methodological research rooted in stochastic modeling, risk analysis, and artificial intelligence, Dr. Liu aims to bring these methods to industry practice. To fulfill the big demand for educating railway engineers, he founded Rutgers’ first rail program (rail.rutgers.edu). Through this program, Dr. Liu’s group actively collaborates with freight and passenger rail agencies nationwide to implement cutting-edge technological and management solutions for rail safety improvement. Xiang received his Ph.D. in Transportation Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Some of his dissertation research results have been used by the American railroad industry in development of several recent rail safety policies and practices.

 

Education

  • Ph.D. Transportation Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, December 2013
  • M.S. Transportation Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, May 2011
  • B.S. Transportation Engineering (Maritime and Port Operations), Shanghai Jiao Tong University, May 2008


 

Honors

  • Central NJ Researcher of the Year Award, 2018
  • A. Walter Tyson Assistant Professor Award, Rutgers School of Engineering, 2018
  • "Rising Star" Award, Progressive Railroading, 2018
  • Outstanding Paper Award, Transportation Research Board (TRB) Hazardous Materials Transportation (AT040) Committee, 2018
  • Educator of the Year Award, ASCE New Jersey, 2017
  • Outstanding Paper Award, Transportation Research Board (TRB) Hazardous Materials Transportation (AT040) Committee, 2017
  • Young Member Best Paper Award, Rail Operational Safety Committee (AR070), Transportation Research Board of U.S. National Research Council, 2017
  • Transportation Research Board (TRB) Hazardous Materials Transportation (AT040) Committee Outstanding Contribution Award, 2016
  • International Society for Risk Analysis Travel Grant for Attending the World Congress on Risk, 2015
  • Best Young Member Paper Award, Rail Operational Safety Committee (AR070), Transportation Research Board of U.S. National Research Council, 2014
  • American Society of Mechanical Engineers Rail Transportation Division Fall Technical Conference Scholarship, 2013
  • Society for Risk Analysis – Risk, Law & Policy Merit Award, 2013
  • American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association Educational Foundation Scholarship, 2013
  • U.S. DOT Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship, 2012

Professional Affiliations

  • Transportation Research Board (TRB) Railroad Operational Safety Committee
  • American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association (AREMA)
  • American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
  • Society for Risk Analysis (SRA)

Research Interests

  • Smart Infrastructure – artificial intelligence and sensing technologies for infrastructure deterioration modeling and optimal management strategies to reduce life cycle cost 
  • Smart Mobility – shared mobility, optimal service design, network modeling, emerging mobility technologies and solutions
  • Smart Logistics – freight railroads, autonomous trains, energy logistics, hazardous material transport, risk management 

 

 

Selected Publications