Lab Director


Dr. Venktesh Pandey

Dr. Venktesh Pandey is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering at the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. His research integrates intelligent transportation systems (ITS) and emerging mobility services in traffic operations, congestion pricing, and transportation planning models. He is actively involved with various professional organizations such as the Transportation Research Board (TRB), Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), and the Institute for Operations Research and Management Sciences (INFORMS). Dr. Pandey has broad interests in improving Engineering Education systems of the future. He is the recipient of the 2022-23 Junior Faculty Teaching Excellence Award at NCA&T and holds certifications for Effective Teaching Practice and Fostering a Culture of Belonging through the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE). Prior to joining N.C. A&T, he completed his undergraduate studies in Civil Engineering at Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, earned M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering (CAEE) at The University of Texas at Austin and worked as a Project Associate at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. Outside of research and teaching, Venktesh enjoys hiking, running, and sipping on coffee, and finds inspiration in living a life full of courage, compassion, and clarity.



Venktesh

Current Graduate Students

Masters and PhD Student

Akilah Jones

Education
  • M.Sc Civil Engineering - North Carolina A&T State University, Currently Enrolled
  • B.Sc Architecture - Ohio State University

Akilah Jones is a researcher with an interest in civil systems and the role of emerging technologies in shaping more accessible communities. She is currently working on a project exploring the use of autonomous vehicles in rural areas experiencing transportation insecurity. Her work focuses on the intersection of mobility innovation, fairness in access, and rural infrastructure. Akilah is a graduate of The Ohio State University, where she earned her degree in Architecture, and she is currently a Woodland E. Hall Fellow at North Carolina A&T State University.

Akilah


Ali Gorji Sefidmazgi

Education
  • Ph.D. Computational Data Science and Engineering - North Carolina A&T State University, Currently Enrolled
  • M.Sc. Civil Engineering - University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky.
  • B.Sc. Civil Engineering- Azad University, Iran.

Ali Gorji started with the transportation modeling lab in 2025. His research focuses on applying machine learning techniques to transportation engineering problems, including traffic analysis, crash prediction, and time series analysis. Ali has developed innovative methodologies for AADT prediction and crash report analysis, leveraging advanced machine learning tools such as PyTorch, TensorFlow, and Optuna. Outside of his academic work, he enjoys exploring books on history and psychology.

Ali


David Quansah

Education
  • M.Sc. Civil Engineering - North Carolina A&T State University, Currently Enrolled
  • B.Sc. Computer Science- University of Cape Coast, Ghana.

David J. Quansah is a graduate research assistant who joined the Transportation Modeling Lab at North Carolina A&T in the fall of 2024. He is passionate about integrating his background in computer science into solving complex transportation problems. His research interests lie in Intelligent Transportation Systems, traffic congestion reduction, traffic signalization amongst others. Outside transportation engineering, David is a humanitarian who loves motivating others. He enjoys traveling and exploring different cultures in his free time.

David


Komal Gulati

Education
  • Ph.D. Electrical Engineering - North Carolina A&T State University, Currently Enrolled
  • M.Sc., Automotive Engineering, University of Leeds, United Kingdom
  • B.Tech. Mechanical Engineering - Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, India

Komal Gulati is currently pursuing her PhD degree in Electrical Engineering under the department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. She completed her masters (MSc) in Automotive Engineering from the University of Leeds, United Kingdom in 2020. She has worked as a research intern at the Automotive Research Association of India for one year under the Computer Vision and Robotics department on an industrial project related to building a Level 3 autonomous vehicle. Her interdisciplinary academic and research background has bagged her a Graduate Research Assistant position at the Center for Regional and Rural Connected Communities (CR2C2) at the North Carolina A&T State University. Her scientific curiosity is to work on problem statements related to urban and transportation planning that involves amalgam of Geospatial analysis and Artificial Intelligence tools with an aim to find solutions on providing mobility and equal opportunities to all groups of people in the society in various domains. Her ongoing research projects include "Optimal and Safe Routes for Freight Transportation in Rural Areas" and "Community-Oriented and Data-Driven Mobility Modeling for Rural and Disconnected Communities".

Komal


Mohammad Ashraf Ali

Education
  • M.Sc., Civil Engineering, North Carolina A&T State University
  • B.Sc, Urban and Regional Planning - Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology (BUET), Dhaka

Mohammad Ashraf Ali joined Dr. Pandey's research lab as a graduate research and teaching assistant in the fall of 2024. He is passionate in development and urban transportation planning-related research and field activities that are connected to real-life public issues. Currently, he is pursuing MS in Civil Engineering (Concentration in Transportation and Regional Development) at North Carolina A&T State University. My recent research works focus on urban or regional transportation-related problems and probable solutions. Ashraf thinks of himself as a learner towards the goal of making our world more livable, inclusive and sustainable.

Ashraf

Undergraduate Students

Active


Andre Flores-Fletes

Education
  • B.Sc, Civil Engineering - North Carolina A&T State University, Currently Enrolled

Andre Flores-Fletes is an undergraduate Civil Engineering major at North Carolina A&T State University. He holds a deep interest in all things related to transportation engineering. Andre joined the Transportation Modelling Lab in the Summer of 2024 and is focused in research for optimal freight delivery routes in urban environments. He enjoys soccer and playing video games.

Andre


Kayla Stevens

Education
  • B.Sc, Civil Engineering - North Carolina A&T State University, Currently Enrolled

Kayla Stevens is an undergraduate student currently studying civil engineering at North Carolina A&T University. She is exceptionally curious about the transportation engineering industry and joined the Transportation Modelling Lab in the spring of 2025. Kayla is particularly interested in how incentivization can improve the urban travel experience, along with the improvement of roadway design and the continuous development of smartroads. During her free time she enjoys sewing, playing with her dogs and learning about places she wants to visit.

Kayla

Meray Abdelmalak

Education
  • B.Sc + M.Sc, Civil Engineering - North Carolina A&T State University, Currently Enrolled

Meray Abdelmalak is an undergraduate civil engineering student at North Carolina A&T State University, where she is also enrolled in the Accelerated Bachelor’s to Master’s (ABM) Degree Pathway. Her interests lie in transportation planning, with a focus on accessibility, mobility, and ensuring fair access to transportation. In Summer 2025, she interned with Davenport, Inc., gaining practical experience in the field. In her free time, Meray enjoys reading and watching TV shows.

Meray

Muzan Abdelrahman

Education
  • B.Sc, Civil Engineering - North Carolina A&T State University, Currently Enrolled

Muzan Abelrahman is currently enrolled in North Carolina A&T as an undergraduate civil engineering student. She has a strong interest in anything related to Transportation engineering particularly in how well-designed systems can make travel more efficient and accessible for everyone. Muzan joined the Transportation Modelling Lab in the Summer of 2025 and is focused on research for state of the art on auxiliary lanes between freeway interchanges. In her free time, she enjoys reading mystery thriller books and baking.

Muzan

Neil Deshpande

Education
  • B.Sc, Civil Engineering - North Carolina A&T State University, Currently Enrolled

Neil Deshpande is an undergraduate civil engineering student at North Carolina A&T State University. He joined the transportation modeling lab in Spring 2025 and has a strong interest in researching and improving access to the various modes of multimodal transportation. During the summer of 2025, Neil was an NCDOT HBCU Intern and worked in the Asheville, NC District Engineer’s office. Neil has been part of a CR2C2 project titled "Community-Oriented and Data-Driven Mobility Modeling For Rural and Disconnected Communities”, and has focused his research on the intercity bus system. In his spare time, Neil enjoys hiking, cycling, browsing Google Maps, reading, video games, and chess.

Neil

Lab Alumni


Graduate Students

Name Graduation Year Degree Thesis/Research Topic Position After Graduation Current Position (updated Aug 2025)
Rifa Tasnia 2025MS, Civil Engineering (Thesis)Express Lane Route Choice under Real-time Information: A Joint Revealed and Stated-Preference Study.----
Htet Phyo 2025MS, Civil Engineering (Project)Transit Accessibility and Bike Stress Mapping in Greensboro’s Transportation NetworkTransportation Engineering Associate/Engineer I Trainee at NCDOTTransportation Engineering Associate/Engineer I Trainee at NCDOT
Oladimeji Basit Alaka 2025MS, Civil Engineering (Thesis)Data-Driven Approaches for Sustainable and Equitable Transportation Infrastructure: A Study of Bike Network Design and Automated Shuttle Readiness.Project Engineer with Practical Design PartnersProject Engineer with Practical Design Partners
Ridwan Tiamiyu 2025MS, Civil Engineering (Thesis)Optimizing Transportation Congestion Management: A Multi-Objective Approach to Equitable Tolling, Mobility Credits, and Trip Planning.Design Engineer, Bolton & Menk, Inc.Design Engineer, Bolton & Menk, Inc.
Doreen Jehu-Appiah 2024MS, Computational Data Science and Engineering (Thesis)Optimizing Demand-Responsive Transit: A Predictive Framework for Dwell Time and Integration of Value of Waiting TimePhD in Healthcare Analytics at NCA&TPhD in Healthcare Analytics at NCA&T
Hadi Khoury 2023MS, Civil Engineering (Project)Reinforcement learning approaches for traffic operationsProject Engineer I at DavenportProject Engineer I at Davenport
Mohand Elbashir 2023MS, Civil Engineering (Project) Networks of Express lanes: Coordination of planning, Design, Construction, Operations, and Maintenance -- Project Manager at ECS Southeast
Bader G. Alamri 2022MS, Civil Engineering (Thesis)Dynamic tolling of express lanes -- Project Data Engineer | BIM & GIS | NEOM - ENOWA

Undergraduate Students

  • Mustafa Noori, Civil Engineering
  • Mikal Ali, Civil Engineering
  • Joshua Oliver, Civil Engineering
  • Anusha Neupane, Civil Engineering
  • Bavly Abdelmalak, Civil Engineering
  • Christian Bowens, Civil Engineering
  • Isaiah Sanders, Civil Engineering
  • Stephen Nyarko, Mathematics + Civil Engineering
  • Victoria Lanier, Industrial Engineering
  • Melissa Petit-Jean, Civil Engineering
  • Ashley Nimley, Civil Engineering
  • Mary Bakre, Civil Engineering
  • Kennedy Kishumbua, Civil Engineering