FUTURE TRANSPORT SYSTEMS: MODELLING RELIABLE TRANSPORT NETWORKS

Enhanced PhD Scholarship. EPSRC Industrial CASE (iCASE)

University of Leeds in partnership with the Highways Agency

Do you have an aptitude for quantitative analysis, perhaps with a degree in engineering, mathematics, geography, or economics?

Are you interested in learning how to apply your skills to a new field that affects all of our lives?

The ability to move people and goods reliably is something we may take for granted when planning to travel to work or study, deciding where to live, or shopping for home-delivery goods on the internet. However, it is no trivial task to design the physical infrastructure to meet the ever-changing needs for mass transportation, especially in times of economic pressures in investment. On the other hand, emerging technology provides new opportunities for dealing with unpredictable events, such as re-rescheduling appointments through social media or re-planning journeys using real-time information. In order to anticipate future needs and possibilities, mathematical models have been used by transport planners for many years to replicate the travel and transport experiences of such city populations, and to test alternative hypothetical future interventions and investment decisions. However, it is evident that existing approaches have significant limitations, especially for representing the inconvenience on, and behavioural response of, travellers to unexpected events, which might cause them to re-plan their journeys and activities, or may cause delays to important journeys or time-sensitive goods.

With such issues in mind, we invite applications from eligible UK/EU candidates for an enhanced-stipend, EPSRC iCASE PhD scholarship, jointly funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the Highways Agency as one of EPSRC’s strategic partners. The study will aim to capture the essential elements described above in a mathematical model, and to implement these techniques in the industry-standard software used by city planners. The supervision team will consist of individuals from academia and practice with a long-standing interest and expertise in this field, namely: Prof David Watling of the world-renowned Institute for Transport Studies (ITS) at the University of Leeds; Gareth Evans, Principal Transport Planner and Economic Advisor at the Highways Agency (HA); and Chris Smith of the Project Modelling and Appraisal team at the Department for Transport (DfT).

The student will be based in the Spatial Modelling and Dynamics group within ITS, a highly active research group which attracts funding especially from the research councils, the European Union and other applied sources, and which has a multi-disciplinary group of 50 PhD students working on a range of fundamental and applied topics in transportation. Those new to the transport field will be able to gain a background to the subject through attending some of our advanced modules offered as part of our long-established and thriving Masters courses in transport planning, engineering and economics. As part of the project, the student will also have the opportunity to visit and work alongside colleagues in the Highways Agency and Department for Transport, and thereby build up a wider network and to gain a broader perspective of the practical requirements and use to which mathematical modelling techniques are put in the context of planning transport systems. As well as an enhanced maintenance award, and enhanced training budget is also available, providing the student with opportunities for building on our strong international links with studies on reliability in countries such as Japan, New Zealand, Hong Kong and the U.S., as well as across Europe.

Person specification

We invite applications from those who have, or are on course to gain, a good honours degree (first or upper second) with a substantive quantitative element, such as (but not restricted to) engineering, mathematics, operations research, geography, economics. Previous knowledge of transport is not essential, but it is important that the applicant combines technical skills with an enquiring mind and a desire to engage with complex real-life problems.

How to apply

See the ITS website for details: http://www.its.leeds.ac.uk/courses/phd/funding/

Closing date for applications: Midnight GMT on the evening of the 31st May 2013.

While there is some flexibility in start-date, the scholarship must begin by 1st October 2013.