Dimitra Michalaka

Dr. Dimitra Michalaka is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Construction Engineering at The Citadel (School of Engineering). She holds a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the University of Florida (2012) and is a licensed Professional Engineer in South Carolina. Her expertise spans Traffic Operations, Congestion Pricing, Traffic Simulation, and Engineering Education. She teaches courses such as Transportation Engineering, Highway Engineering, and Engineering Management.

Dr. Michalaka's research focuses on advancing transportation systems through technology integration (e.g., quantum computing, AI for autonomous vehicles) and promoting equitable workforce development. She has pioneered frameworks to diversify the transportation workforce in the Southeast and evaluated bike-sharing networks' impacts on public health and urban mobility. Her work also emphasizes curriculum innovation, including gamification in engineering education and earned value management pedagogy.

She actively engages in outreach, including K-12 educational programs and internships to bridge academia-industry gaps. Her recent projects address safety benefits of connected/automated vehicles and the role of built environments in physical activity and congestion reduction.

• Grants/Projects: Center for Connected Multimodal Mobility (C2M2), ITE Legacy Scholarships, Army ROTC collaborations
• Labs/Teams: Involved in transportation safety research and educational outreach initiatives