Zijia Zhong

Sr. Transportation Engineer

About

My ProfileWelcome! I am a Senior Transportation Engineer at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT). Prior to my return to NJIT, I was a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Center for Integrated Mobility Sciences at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) during 2019-2020 and in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Delaware during 2018-2019. My research focuses on connected and automated vehicle operations in a mixed traffic environment, transportation data analytics, cooperative adaptive cruise control, computer vision for traffic engineering, and traffic safety.

I received my Ph.D. degree from the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT). The topic of my dissertation is “Assessing the Effectiveness of Managed Lane Strategies for the Rapid Deployment of Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control Technology”, which investigated the near-term deployment of CACC in mixed traffic conditions with various lane use strategies. Furthermore, I developed a microscopic simulation testbed and implemented a Pareto-optimal cooperative driving framework that allows switching among platoon-wide objectives based on operational needs.

Besides my dissertation research, I have been involved in a variety of research related intelligent transportation system (ITS) applications, including eco-driving, vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication, real-time traffic monitoring with unmanned aerial system (UAS), urban wireless sensor network, and development of integration simulation test bed for connected and automated vehicle (CAV) application evaluation. Prior to my doctoral study, I worked at the LMW Engineering Group for 2 years as an entry level civil engineer specializing in structural design and construction inspection. My undergraduate study was in Environmental Engineering in Jinan University in Guangzhou, China.

Curriculum vitae
Google scholar

Education

Ph.D. Student in Transportation Engineering, Sept. 2013 - May 2018
New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark

Dissertation Topic
Assessing the Effectiveness of Managed Lane Strategies for
the Rapid Deployment of Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control Technology
Advisor: Dr. Joyoung Lee;
Committee members: Dr. Lazar Spasovic, Dr. Steven Chien, Dr. Guiling Wang, and Dr. Parth Bhavsar

Presentation Slide Available for Download Here

Completed

M.S. in Civil Engineering, May 2011
New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark

Completed

B.S. in Environmental Engineering, June 2009
Jinan University, Guangzhou, China

Completed

Skill Sets Highlights

Linguistic Skill (to human): Cantonese, Mandarin, English

Linguistic Skill (to machine): C/C++, C#, Python, TeX, JaveScript, HTML, CSS

High-performance Computing: Parallel Computing w/ Supercomputer, Slurm, AWS Cloud Computing

Numerical Software: MATLAB, Anaconda(python), SAS, Minitab, Lindo

Traffic Simulation: VISSIM (COM Interface, VISSIM APIs), VISTRO, VISUM, AUMO, AIMSUM

Driving Simulation (RTI-powered): SimCreator, SimVista.

Enhanced Simulation: Human-in-the-loop simulation (e.g., with driving simulator), Hardware-in-the-loop (HITL) simulation, software-in-the-loop (SITL) simulation

Traffic Engineering Software: Synchro Studio, Highway Capacity Software

Design Software: AutoCAD, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, Google SketchUp

Other: ArcGIS, QGIS, MS Office Suite (including Publisher, Visio, and Access)

Certification: FAA Certified Remote Pilot (to be renewed), Engineer-in-training (E.I.T.)

Experience

Graduate Research Assistant

New Jersey Institute of Technology

2013.09 ~ 2018.05

Assess the feasibility of managed lane policies for priority or exclusive usage for Connected and Automated Vehicles

Build advanced microscopic traffic simulation test bed for ITS technologies evaluation by integrating MATLAB, VISSIM, VISSIM API, and VISSIM COM Interface

Build simulation test bed for human factor study for advanced driving assist systems(ADAS) using full-cabin driving simulator

Integrate driving simulatior with miscroscpoic traffic simulation model for human-machine-interface(HMI) evaluation for connected and autonomous vehicle application

Develop hardware-in-the-loop(HITL) simulations for advanced signal control systems as well as accessible pedestrian signal alternative mobile application (i.e., Virtual Guide Dog Application)

Derive analytical model for simulating imperfect wireless communication from packet-level network simulator (e.g., ns3, OMNeT++)

Develop Pareto-optimal control algorithms for cooperative adaptive cruise control (CACC) considering multiple conflicting platoon wide objectives

Conduct origin-destination (OD) estimation based on mobile trajectory data collected by on-board GPS

Evaluate the use of Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) for Real-time traffic monitoring and its integration to traffic management center

Assess the feasbility of usign ZigBee wireless sensor network (WSN) for low-cost and energy-saving urban mobility monitoring

Engineer I

LMW Engineering Group, LLC

2011.08 - 2013.08

Performed engineering design under direct supervision of senior structural engineers to determine specifications for construction projects

Drafted engineering drawings for structure alteration, building demolition and support of excavation in accordance with building codes of Department of Building of New York City (NYCDOB)

Revised and amended pre- and post- approval engineering drawings in coordination of clients, field inspectors, and NYCDOB

Conducted on-site inspection for support of excavation along with other foundation engineering projects

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Jinan University, Guangzhou

2007.06 - 2009.06

Collected sludge sample from municipal waste water treatment plan weekly for sludge dehydration experiment

Cultivated and extracted Microbial Flocculant (MBF) from various fungus for dehydration

Evaluated the effectiveness of MBF extracted from a veriaty of fungifor sludge dehydration

Research

Dedicating Lanes for Priority or Exclusive Use by Connected and Automated Vehicles

Development of Multi-objective Optimzation based Cooperative Adatpive Cruise Control Algorithm

Introduction of Cooperative Infrastructure-to-vehicle Systems to Improve Speed Harmonization

Saxton Transportation Operations Laboratory Simulation Capability

Small UAS Real-time Traffic Monitoring and Incident Management System

I-295 Direct Connect Work Zone Mobility Monitoring Application Development

Real-time Urban Mobility Monitoring System by Utilizing Wireless Sensor Network

Real-time Origin-Destination Flow Estimation for Mobile Sensor Network

Publications

Papers in Prepration

  1. Z. Zhong, L. Zhu, and S. E. Young, "Approximation Framework of Embodied Energy of Safety: Insights, and Spatiotemporal Analysis"
  2. Z. Zhong* and J. Lee, " Dedicated Lane for Connected and Automated Vehicle: How Much Does A Homogeneous Traffic Flow Contribute?" https://arxiv.org/pdf/1907.00422.pdf (under review)
  3. Z. Zhong M. Nejad*, and E. E. Lee, "Unconventional arterial intersection designs under connected and automated vehicle environment: a survey" https://arxiv.org/pdf/1811.03074.pdf (under review)

Journal Papers

  1. Z. Zhong* M. Nejad, and E. E. Lee, "Autonomous and Semi-Autonomous Intersection Management: A Review," IEEE Intell. Transp. Sys. Mag. (accepted)
  2. Z. Zhong*, E. E.Lee, M. Nejad and J. Lee, "Influence of CAV Clustering Strategies on Mixed Traffic Flow Characteristics: An Analysis of Vehicle Trajectory Data," Transp. Res. Part C: Emerging Technologies, vol.115, pp.102611, 2020, doi:10.1016/j.trc.2020.102611
  3. Z. Zhong* and J. Lee, "Virtual Guide Dog: Next Generation Pedestrian Signal for the Visually Impaired,'' Advances in Mechanical Eng., vol.12(3),pp.1-9, 2020 doi:10.1177/1687814019883096
  4. Z. Zhong* and J. Lee, "The Effectiveness of Managed Lane Strategies for the Near-term Deployment of Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control," Transp. Res. Part A: Policy and Practices, vol.129, pp. 257–270, 2019, doi:1016/J.TRA.2019.08.015
  5. Z. Zhong, J. Lee*, and L. Zhao. "Multiobjective Optimization Framework for Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control Vehicles in the Automated Vehicle Platooning Environment," Transp. Res. Rec. J. Transp. Res. Board, vol. 2625, pp. 32–42, 2017
  6. H. Ye, J. Ye*, and Z. Zhong,"Study on sludge dewatering using microbial floculant," China Environmental Chemistry, vol. 3, p. 024, 2009

Peer-reviewed Conference Proceeding Papers

  1. Z. Zhong* and E. E.Lee, "Alternative Intersection Designs with Connected and Automated Vehicle," in IEEE 2nd Connected and Automated Vehicles Symposium, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA, 2019
  2. Z. Zhong* and E. E.Lee, M. Nejad and J. Lee, "Clustering Strategies of Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control: Impacts on Human-driven Vehicles," in IEEE 2nd Connected and Automated Vehicles Symposium, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA, 2019 (Best Paper Award)
  3. Z. Zhong and J. Lee*, "Simulation framework for cooperative adaptive cruise control with empirical DSRC module," in 44th Annu. Conf. of IEEE Ind Electron. Soc., Washington DC, USA, 2018
  4. J. Lee*, Z. Zhong, J. Singh, B. Dimitrijevic, S. Chien, L. Spasovic,, "Real-time performance measure monitoring system for long-term freeway work zone," in Intell. Transp. Syst. World Congress 2017, Montreal, Canada
  5. J. Lee*, S. Gutesa, Z. Zhong, B. Dimitrijevic, L. Spasovic, and J. Singh,, "Evaluation of freeway merging assistance system using driving simulator," in Intell. Transp. Syst. World Congress 2017, Montreal, Canada
  6. Z. Zhong, J, Lee*, and L. Zhao, "Evaluations of managed lane strategies for arterial deployment of cooperative adaptive cruise control," in 96th Transp. Res. Board Annu. Meeting, Washington DC, USA, 2017
  7. Z. Zhong* and J. Lee, "Development of CID-free hardware-in-the-loop simulation framework," in 96th Transp. Res. Board Annu. Meeting, Washington, DC, USA, 2015
  8. Lee* et al., "WIMAP: work zone interactive monitoring application," in 94th Transp. Res. Board Annu. Meeting, Washington, DC, USA, 2015
  9. J. Lee* Z. Zhong* K. Kim, B. Dimitrijevic, B. Du, and S. Gutesa, "Examining the applicability of small quadcopter drone for traffic surveillance and roadway incident monitoring ," in 94th Transp. Res. Board Annu. Meeting, Washington, DC, USA, 2015
  10. Z. Zhong and J. Lee*, "Estimation of real-time origin-destination flow using mobile sensor network," in 21st Intell. Transp. Syst. World Congress, Detroit, MI, USA, 2014

Technical Reports

  1. L. Spasovic, B. Dimitrijevic, J. Lee, P. Jin, Z. Zhong, and D. Besenski, "Research of UAS application in traffic monitoring and incident management," New Jersey Department of Transportation, Mar. 2017
  2. L. Spasovic, B. Dimitrijevic, D. Besenski J. Lee, and Z. Zhong, "Small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) for traffic incident management," New Jersey Department of Transportation, Mar. 2017
  3. J. Lee, L. Spasovic, S. Gutesa, Z. Zhong, and B. Dimitrijevic, "Examining the applicability of a driving simulator for the evaluation of ITS and TSM&O strategies," New Jersey Department of Transportation, Mar. 2017
  4. J. Lee, L. Spasovic, Z. Zhong, B. Dimitrijevic, K. Kim, and S. Chien, "Development and implementation of WIMAP Application (I-295 Direct Connect Case Study)," New Jersey Department of Transportation, Mar. 2017
  5. J. Lee, L. Spasovic, S. Gutesa, Z. Zhong, and B. Dimitrijevic, "Development of hardware-in-the-loop-simulation (HILS) environment for adaptive traffic control system," New Jersey Department of Transportation, Mar. 2017

Manuals

  1. Work Zone Interactive Monitoring Application (WIMAP) Quick Start Guide
  2. Statewide Work Zone Monitoring Achieved Data Portal (SWMADP) Quick Start Guide

Presentation

  1. " Managed Lane Strategies for Near-term Deployment of Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control," persented at the Automated Vehicles Symposium, virtual, 2020
  2. "A GDP-weighted First-order Approximation of Energy Equivalence of Safety Framework," presented at the 99th Transportation Research Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C. 2020
  3. "Alternative Intersection Designs with Connected and Automated Vehicle," persented at the 2nd IEEE Connected and Automated Vehicles Symposium, Honolulu, HI, 2019
  4. "Clustering Strategies of Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control: Impacts on Human-driven Vehicles," persented at the 2nd IEEE Connected and Automated Vehicles Symposium, Honolulu, HI, 2019
  5. "Assessing the Effectiveness of Managed Lane Strategies for the Near-term Deployment of Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control," presented at the PTV User Group Meeting, Arlington, VA, 2018
  6. "Evaluation of Freeway Merging Assistance System Using Driving Simulator," persented at the Intelligent Transportation Systems World Congress 2017, Montreal, Canada, 2017
  7. "Real-time Performance Measure Monitoring System for Long-term Freeway Work Zone," persented at the Intelligent Transportation Systems World Congress 2017, Montreal, Canada, 2017
  8. "Evaluations of Managed Lane Strategies for Arterial Deployment of Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control," persented at the 96th Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting, Washington D.C. Jan. 2017
  9. "Development of CID-Free Hardware-in-the-Loop Simulation Framework," persented at the 96th Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting, Washington D.C. Jan. 2017
  10. "Virtual Guide Dog: Next Generation Pedestrian Signal for the Visually Impaired,” presented at the 18th UTC Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Conference, Washington, D.C. 2016
  11. "Multi-objective Optimization Controller for Cooperative Adatpive Cruise Control," presented at the 95th Transportation Research Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C. 2016
  12. "WIMAP: Work Zone Interative Monitoring Application," presented at the 94th Transportation Research Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C. 2015
  13. "Examining the Applicability of Small Quadcopter Drone for Traffic Surveillance and Roadway Incident Monitoring," presented at the 94th Transportation Research Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C. 2015
  14. "Evaluating the Effectiveness of Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control as a Freeway Managed Lane Strategy," presented at the 4th Symposium on Connected and Autonomous Vehicles, Albany, NY. 2015
  15. "Small Quadcopter Drone for Traffic Surveillance and Roadway Incident Monitoring," presented at the 25th Intelligent Transportation System of America Annual Meeting, Pittsburgh, PA. 2015
  16. "Pilot Test for Persional Signal Assistant (PSA) in New Jersey," presetned at the 3rd Symposium on Connected and Autonomous Vehicles, Albany, NY. 2014
  17. "Estimation of Real-time Origin-destination Flow Using Mobile Sensor Network," presented at the 21st Intelligent Transport Systems World Congress, Detriot, MI. 2014

Services

  • Panalist, TRB 2020 Workshop: Infrastructure Spatial Sensing at Intersections
  • Panalist, AVS 2020 Breakouts: The (Dedicated) Road to Deployment: What are the Priorities?
  • Reviewer, Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies
  • Reviewer, IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology
  • Reviewer, IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems
  • Reviewer, IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Vehicles
  • Reviewer, SAE International Journal of Connected and Automated Vehicles
  • Reviewer, Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board
  • Reviewer, Korean Society of Civil Engineers (KSCE) Journal of Civil Engineering
  • Reviewer, International Journal of Transportation
  • Reviewer, Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting
  • Reviewer, COTA International Conference for Transportation Professionals (CICTP)

Affiliation

  • Member, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

zijia.zhong@ieee.org