Megan Ryerson

Megan Ryerson, PhD is the UPS Chair of Transportation and Professor of City and Regional Planning and Electrical and Systems Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania. She also serves as Chair of the Department of City and Regional Planning, a Senior Fellow at the Center for Injury Research and Prevention (CIRP) at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), and co-PI of the Center for Air Transportation Systems Resilience (CATRes). Her research focuses on integrating injury prevention, equity, accessibility, and resilience into transportation planning methods.

• PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Berkeley (Fall 2010)
• Master of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Berkeley (Spring 2006)
• Bachelor of Science in Systems Engineering (minor in Mathematics), University of Pennsylvania (Spring 2003)

Dr. Ryerson’s research lies at the intersection of transportation engineering, equity, and public health. She develops novel analytical frameworks for transport systems that reduce injuries, prioritize disadvantaged populations, and enhance resilience through AI/machine learning applications. Her work on air transportation includes environmental impact analysis and route network optimization, while urban safety research involves cyclist biometrics and street design metrics.

Her publications span transportation equity, safety metrics, and AV integration, with recent emphasis on driver training deserts, pandemic-era mobility shifts, and algorithmic fairness in reproductive healthcare access. She leads the Mobility21 Transportation Research Center (a DOT UTC) and founded the Center for Safe Mobility, which creates human-centered safety tools like eye-tracking metrics.

• $6M NASA University Leadership Initiative Award (2024)
• Woman of the Year, Women’s Transportation Seminar-Philadelphia Chapter

As Associate Dean for Research at the Weitzman School of Design, she grew the research portfolio by 300% over five years and established the Research Support Center. Her team includes majority female researchers across Penn’s Engineering, Arts & Sciences, and Design schools, reflecting her commitment to advancing women in transportation fields.