Tae J. Kwon

Tae J. Kwon is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Alberta. His research spans Winter Transportation Engineering, Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), Traffic Optimization, and Geospatial Information Science.

• Developed LoRWIS, a web-based decision support system for road weather sensor optimization
• Recipient of multiple awards including ITS Canada Excellence in Research and Development Award (2024), KOFST Scientist of the Year (2024), and Early Career Research Award (University of Alberta, 3 times)
• Active in professional committees like the TRB Surface Transportation Weather Research Group (2016–present)

Research Highlights:

• Winter Road Maintenance: Advanced geostatistical and deep learning techniques for road condition monitoring
• Location Optimization: Pioneered models for RWIS sensor placement using hybrid geostatistical methods
• Intelligent Transportation Systems: Focused on big data applications for traffic safety and connected vehicles
• Climate Resilience: Integrated ecological vulnerability into fire hazard modeling

Scientific Awards:

• ITS Canada Excellence in Research (2024)
• KOFST Scientist of the Year (2024)
• Donald Stanley Best Paper Award (2023)
• AKCSE Early Achievement Award (2021)
• University of Alberta Early Career Research Award (2020)
• Great Supervisor Award (2019)

Teaching & Leadership:

• Teaches courses like CIV E 419 (Transportation Engineering: Highway Planning and Design) and CIV E 612 (Transportation Planning: Methodology and Techniques)
• Leads the Geospatial Transportation System & Sensing Solutions Lab (GeoTrans), mentoring PhD students Juan Cuellar and Jiehao Bi
• Collaborates with agencies including Alberta Transportation, NSERC, and Iowa DOT