Assistant Professor
School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Transportation systems, the environment (especially air quality), and sustainable development are the research interests of Oliver Gao. He addresses various issues in urban/regional transportation planning, engineering, air-quality impact and conformity, and related transportation policies. Most of Gao’s research involves the intensive application of mathematical and probability theories, statistical/econometrical methods (estimation, inference, hypothesis testing, forecasting), scientific computing, and information technology (GIS, temporally and spatially indexed transportation/environment database).
Before joining the Engineering faculty at Cornell, Gao worked for the Rohatyn Group, LLG, N.Y., as a quantitative analyst on fund allocation optimization in global emerging markets. He also worked—as a post-doc at the University of Connecticut—on emissions and fuel-efficiency assessment of diesel hybrid electric and conventional diesel buses for Connecticut Transit and the Joint Highway Research Advisory Council.
He received a Ph.D. in civil and environmental engineering, M.S. in statistics, and M.S. in agricultural economy (all 2004) from the University of California, Davis.
Gao explains that he works in pursuit of successful environmental quality control strategies and sustainable transportation systems. “By nature transportation and the associated environment/energy problems are cross-disciplinary and demand multidisciplinary solutions,” he says.
He gives the example of one of his previous studies, which included spatial/temporal statistical modeling of Weigh-In-Motion commercial truck transportation and its impact on diurnal ground-level ozone/NOx dynamics in Southern California, the most ozone-polluted area in the nation. Comprehensive interpretations of the results and their empirical implications were investigated from both transportation and environment perspectives. The study contributes to the development of state implementation plans, the optimization of transportation systems, and coordination of transportation planning and air-quality control. “Concerted interagency collaborations prove critical toward more efficient and sustainable transportation,” he says.
This fall, Gao is teaching a new graduate course on transportation, environment, and sustainable development (Special Topics in Transportation, CEE 764)—the interdisciplinary course will draw upon transportation, air quality, statistics, market research, and policy. He also is preparing a systems engineering class for the spring.
With his background in transportation, environment, statistics, and resource economics, Gao is looking forward to collaborating with interested faculty members, students, and relevant governmental and private agencies across disciplines to nourish dynamic transportation/environment systems research, with its potential extension to land use, environmental justice, and public health.
