CCAT Postdoctoral Researcher Receives INFORMS TSL Best Dissertation Award

Photo of Dr. Xingmin Wang at the INFORMS TSL Business Meeting

CCAT Postdoctoral Researcher Receives INFORMS TSL Best Dissertation Award

Photo of Dr. Xingmin Wang at the INFORMS TSL Business Meeting
Dr. Xingmin Wang at the INFORMS TSL Business Meeting
Photo credit: Peisen Li

The Postdoctoral researcher working out of Dr. Henry Liu’s Michigan Traffic Lab received the prestigious award at the 2024 Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences Annual Meeting

Xingmin Wang, a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at the University of Michigan, has received the Transportation Science & Logistics Best Dissertation Award. According to the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) website, the award is the oldest and most prestigious honor for doctoral dissertations in the transportation science and logistics area. Xingmin received the award during the INFORMS Annual meeting in Seattle, WA on October 21st.

Xingmin’s dissertation, titled ‘Traffic Signal Optimization with Connected Vehicle Trajectories’, was part of a CCAT-funded research project which led to the development of the Optimized Signal as a Service (OSaaS). Xingmin’s dissertation centered on developing a traffic signal retiming system that relies solely on connected vehicle data. This innovation became feasible by overcoming significant challenges in real-world connected vehicle data, such as noise, outliers, and data sparsity due to low market penetration rates. In collaboration with General Motors (GM) and the Road Commission for Oakland County, the system was successfully deployed, resulting in substantial reductions in both delays and stops at signalized intersections.

Dr. Wang is the third University of Michigan graduate who has received the award since its inception in 1970 (the other two being Zhengtian Xu in 2021 and Irina Dolinskaya in 2010). The award was accompanied by a $500 honorarium. The committee members include Shadi Sharif Azadeh, Margaretha Gansterer (Chair), Justin Goodson, Tal Raviv, and Hai Wang.


Headshot of Dr. Xingmin Wang

“I am deeply honored to receive the TSL Best Dissertation Award, which inspires me to continue advancing transportation research by developing practical solutions grounded in strong theoretical foundations. My vision is to transform urban traffic operations and planning through the integration of connected and automated vehicles. Ultimately, I hope that advancements in transportation technology will improve quality of life and enhance mobility for all.”

Xingmin Wang, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Civil and Envrironmental Engineering at the University of Michigan

Xingmin Wang is a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Michigan. He earned his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering and Scientific Computing from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in 2023, and his B.E. in Automotive Engineering from Tsinghua University in 2018. His research focuses on traffic operations involving automated and connected vehicles, traffic flow modeling, and transportation networks. Xingmin was advised by Dr. Henry Liu, CCAT and Mcity Director.

L to R: Xingmin Wang and Henry Liu hold the INFORMS TSL Dissertation award
Xingmin Wang and Henry Liu hold the INFORMS TSL Best Dissertation Award