Prof. Sherif Ishak,  Louisiana State University, USA

Dr. Ishak is the Associate Dean of Engineering for Academic Affairs and the Lloyd J. Guillory professor of Civil Engineering at Louisiana State University. He received his B.S. degree from Cairo University, Egypt, and both M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in civil engineering from the University of Central Florida, prior to joining LSU in 2001. His research area includes traffic operation and control, traffic safety, and applications of intelligent transportation systems. Since joining LSU, he served as a PI or co-PI on 35 research projects totaling $2.5M and funded by the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, Louisiana Board of Regents, National Science Foundation, USDOT, and University Transportation Centers. He published over 70 research articles in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings, made over 55 national and local presentations, and supervised over 25 MS and PhD students to completion. He is also the founder of the Intelligent Transportation Systems lab at Louisiana Transportation Research Center and the LSU driving simulator facility. Dr. Ishak is the chair of the TRB Committee on Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Computing Applications (ABJ70), which serves as a bridge to connect the Computer Science and Information Technology community with the transportation community and to address critical transportation issues and challenges, specifically, on Connected and Automated Vehicles research; Big Data Analytics; Agent-based Modeling Applications and the Study of Complexity in Transportation Systems; and recent challenges of Smart Cities. Dr. Ishak is also a member of the TRB Committee on Freeway Operations, a board member of the Gulf Region Intelligent Transportation Society, and an associate editor for the Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering. Dr. Ishak was recently nominated to serve on the NCHRP panel 20-102 that is charged with maintaining and executing research aligned with the Connected and Automated Vehicles (CV/AV) roadmap.

Prof. Essam Radwan,  University of Central Florida, USA

Essam Radwan is the Executive Director of the Center for Advanced Transportation Systems Simulation (CATSS). He received a BS degree in Civil Engineering with honors from Cairo University, Egypt and MS and Ph.D. Degrees from Purdue University. In 1978, he started his teaching career at Virginia Tech where he was tenured and promoted to Associate Professor then he moved to Arizona State University in 1984 and was promoted to full professor in 1990. Through a national search he was recruited to UCF to chair the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and he remained in that position till 2003. In 1998 he was appointed to be the founding Director of the federally established transportation center (CATSS).
Professor Radwan research interest is traffic characteristics and traffic signal control of freeway and street intersections. Included in this area are theoretical and applied models, discrete event simulation models, and large-scale databases developed to describe traffic behavior. He was instrumental in bridging the gap between human factors researchers, computer engineers, and transportation engineers. The “Human Centered Transportation Simulation Program” that he created under CATSS auspices has been viewed as a unique and one of the leading programs in the US. He directed and co-directed close to 55 research projects totaling well over $11 million in external funded research projects. Through research and graduate advising he published more than two hundred and fifty (250) technical papers and reports and his work has been extensively cited by his peers in the US and around the world. Professor Radwan delivered close to hundred presentations at international conferences and professional meetings. He was a keynote speaker for meetings held in countries like Brazil, China, Qatar, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, New Zealand, Australia, Lebanon, and France.
Professor Radwan graduated sixteen (16) Ph.D. students, twenty eight (28) master degree students. Academic institutions, consulting firms, and public agencies in different states like Florida, Virginia, Louisiana, Colorado, Massachusetts, and Tennessee and overseas countries like Brazil, Egypt, and United Arab Emirates employ his past students.
One of his major accomplishments is building the real time simulation laboratory that involved researchers at UCF from electrical and computer engineering, civil and environmental engineering, industrial engineering, psychology and human factors, and Institute for Simulation and Training. External funded research from FDOT and Georgia Tech Research Foundation sponsored the dual-cab motion base-driving simulator. This program has attracted international experts in this field to visit CATSS labs during the third Driving Simulators Conference hosted by CATSS and held in Orlando in November 2005.
Professor Radwan service to the profession has been extensive. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Institute of Transportation Engineers and has been an active member with the Transportation Research Board, the Florida Engineering Society, and the Intelligent Transportation Systems of Florida. He has a long-standing history active service at ASCE as Chairman and Member of ASCE’s various Committees, to list a few: he was a member of the Board of Governor of the Transportation & Development from 2001 to 2005, Institute Chairman of the UTD/Executive Committee from 1998 until 1999, Member of the UTD / Executive Committee from 1996 until 2001, Chairman of the Task Committee on Human Powered Transportation from 1993 until 1994, Chairman of the Task Committee on Design and Operation of Urban Facilities from 1989 until 1993, Member of the Microcomputer Applications in Transportation Committee from 1985 until 1989, Member of the Publication Committee from 1986 until 1990, Member of the Hazardous Material Transportation Committee from 1988 until 1992, News Correspondent of the Urban Transportation Division from 1988 until 1990, and other services not mentioned here.
Professor Radwan received numerous honors and awards including the ASCE “Frank Masters Award”, the UCF “University Excellence in Professional Service”, the Office of Sponsored Research and Commercialization “UCF Millionaire’s Club Member” designation (UCF faculty who attracted outside research funding exceeding $1 Million) for three consecutive years, the Florida Engineering Society “Outstanding Technical Achievement Award”, the UCF “Distinguished Research of the Year Award”, and the UCF “Faculty Excellence in Mentoring Doctoral Students” award.