Yinhai Wang

Biography

Dr. Yinhai Wang is the Thomas and Marilyn Nielsen Endowed Professor in Engineering and the founding director of the Smart Transportation Applications and Research Laboratory (STAR Lab) at the University of Washington (UW). He also serves as director of Pacific Northwest Transportation Consortium (PacTrans), USDOT University Transportation Center for Federal Region 10, the Northwestern Tribal Technical Assistance Program (NW TTAP) Center, and the Washington State Transportation Center (TRAC). Dr. Wang has held numerous leadership positions in major professional organizations of his fields. He served as President of the Council of University Transportation Centers (CUTC) in 2025–26; Chair of the ASCE Center for Technical Advancement (CTA) in 2024–25; President of the ASCE Transportation & Development Institute (T&DI) in 2018–19; founding co-chair of the ASCE T&DI Connected and Automated Vehicle Impact Committee from 2017 to 2022; and Chair of the Transportation Research Board’s Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Computing Committee from 2021 to 2025. He also served on the IEEE Intelligent Transportation Systems Society Board of Governors from 2011 to 2014 and the IEEE Smart Cities Steering Committee from 2013 to 2018. He currently serves as Connected and Automated Transportation Special Section Editor for the ASCE Journal of Transportation Engineering, Part A: Systems. His previous editorial appointments include Co-Editor-in-Chief of AI for Transportation and as associate editorships for the ASCE Journal of Transportation Engineering, Part A: Systems, Journal of Intelligent Transportation Systems, and ASCE Journal of Computing in Civil Engineering.

Dr. Wang’s research focuses on intelligent transportation systems and the development and deployment of emerging technologies for safer, smarter, and more efficient transportation. His active research areas include artificial intelligence and its transportation applications, traffic sensing, transportation data science, edge computing, transportation safety, traffic operations and simulation, connected and automated transportation, and smart urban mobility. His work spans fundamental research, technology development, field deployment, and workforce development, with extensive collaboration with transportation agencies and industry. Dr. Wang’s work has been recognized by numerous honors, including the 2026 ITE Western District Outstanding Educator Award, the 2025 IEEE Intelligent Transportation Systems Outstanding Research Award, the 2023 ASCE Francis C. Turner Award. His research and technology-development work has also received numerous best-paper and technology-innovation recognitions, including awards from IEEE, TRB, ASCE, AASHTO, and USDOT. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in Washington State, an elected member of the Washington State Academy of Sciences, a Distinguished Member of ASCE, and a Fellow of IEEE and ITE.

Education

• Ph.D., University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan, Sept. 1998
• M.S. in Computer Science and Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, 2002
• M.S.C.E. in Construction Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China, 1991
• B.S.C.E. in Structural Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China, 1989

Previous appointments

• Washington State Transportation Center, Mar. 2024 - present
• USDOT Northwestern Tribal Technical Assistance Program Center, Nov. 2022 - present
• Pacific Northwest Transportation Consortium, USDOT University Transportation Center for Federal Region 10, Seattle, WA, USA Director, Jan. 2012 – present
• University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA Professor, Sept. 2011 –
• University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA Associate Professor, Sept. 2007 – Aug. 2011
• University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA Assistant Professor, Sept. 2003 – Aug. 2007
• University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA Research Assistant Professor, Dec. 2002 – Sept. 2003
• University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA Acting Assistant Professor, Aug. 2002 – Nov. 2002

Research Statement

Transportation systems are being transformed by rapid advances in artificial intelligence (AI), connected and automated vehicles (CAVs), multimodal sensing, edge computing, and vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication. Roadside sensors, cameras, radar, connected vehicles, mobile devices, and other emerging technologies are generating unprecedented amounts of high-resolution transportation data. The key challenge is no longer simply collecting data, but transforming these data into reliable, timely, and actionable intelligence that can improve transportation safety, mobility, efficiency, and infrastructure management.

My research focuses on developing and deploying intelligent transportation technologies that integrate advanced sensing, AI, edge computing, and transportation data science. Specific research areas include: (1) multimodal traffic sensing, perception, and sensor fusion; (2) AI and machine-learning (ML) methods—including computer vision, deep learning, large language models, and edge AI—for transportation perception, prediction, reasoning, and control; (3) transportation data quality, integration, management, and analytics; (4) connected and automated transportation, V2X/I2X communication, cooperative perception, and intelligent infrastructure; and (5) real-time transportation safety, traffic operations, and mobility applications. My research emphasizes not only methodological innovation but also the translation of new technologies into deployable systems through field testing and close collaboration with transportation agencies and industry.

Honors & awards

• 2026 Outstanding Educator Award, Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Western District, May 1, 2026.
• 2025 IEEE Intelligent Transportation Systems Outstanding Research Award, IEEE Intelligent Transportation Systems Society, Nov. 19, 2025.
• Technology Lead of the Yakama Smart Project Team that received the 2025 Washington State Safe System Champion Award from Washington State Traffic Safety Commission, July 2025.
• Best Paper Award from the IEEE T-IV & IV 24 Joint Workshop on Foundation Intelligence for Intelligent Vehicles. June 2024.
• 2024 Asian American Engineer of the Year Award, Chinese Institute of Engineers, September 27, 2024.
• Director of PacTrans that received the 2024 Technology Transfer Leadership Award, Council of University Transportation Centers (CUTC), January 2024.
• 2024 Blue Ribbon Award in Leadership Committee Chair (AED50), Nov. 7, 2023, Transportation Research Board (TRB).
• Member of Washington State Academy of Sciences, September 2023.
• PI of the Mobile Unit for Sensing Traffic (MUST) technology pilot project with Yakama Nation that received 2023 Innovative Project award of the USDOT’s Build a Better Mousetrap Program, July 2023.
• Thomas and Marilyn Nielson Endowed Funds in Engineering Professorship, April 2023 – March 2028, University of Washington.
• Distinguished Member, American Society of Civil Engineers, Mar. 2023.
• 2023 Francis C. Turner Award, American Society of Civil Engineers, Feb. 2023.
• Best Paper Award, AED30 Information Systems and Technology Committee, Transportation Research Board (TRB), Jan. 2023
• Fellow, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Jan. 2023.
• Outstanding Paper Award, 2022 IEEE International Conference on Digital Twins and Parallel Intelligence (DTPI 2022), Smart Cities Conference, Oct. 2022.
• PI of the WSDOT Truck Parking project that received the 2022 High Value Research Award from American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), Aug. 2022.
• Outstanding Technical Paper Award, Institute of Transportation Engineers Western District, July 2022.
• Outstanding Faculty Award, College of Engineering, University of Washington, June 2021.
• Best Paper Award, IEEE International Smart Cities Conference, Oct. 2020.
• Fellow, Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), Jan. 2020.
• Fellow, American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Dec. 2019.
• Asian American Science and Engineering Innovation Award, Asian American Luminary Award (AALA) Committee, Sept. 15, 2019.
• Transportation Education Council Innovations in Education Award, Institute of Transportation Engineers, Aug. 21, 2018.

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