Robert C. Hampshire

Robert C. Hampshire is an associate professor of public policy at the University of Michigan's Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, with dual research associate professor appointments at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) and Michigan Institute for Data Science (MIDAS). He also maintains affiliated faculty status in the Department of Industrial and Operations Engineering, focusing on interdisciplinary applications of quantitative methods to transportation and mobility systems.

His educational background includes a PhD in operations research and financial engineering from Princeton University, forming the foundation for his methodological expertise in stochastic systems analysis.

Hampshire specializes in queueing theory, stochastic modeling, and dynamic optimization applied to innovative mobility services including autonomous vehicles, ride-hailing, bike sharing, and smart parking systems. His research bridges operations research, data science, and public policy to analyze emerging networked industries, with extensive global collaborations between public agencies and private sector partners. Current work emphasizes policy implications of connected vehicle technologies and transportation network management.

Dr. Hampshire is presently on leave from the University of Michigan, serving as chief science officer and principal deputy assistant secretary for research and technology at the U.S. Department of Transportation, where he applies his academic expertise to national transportation policy.

His research activities are embedded within UMTRI's Human Factors group and MIDAS, contributing to interdisciplinary teams addressing transportation data challenges through the Science, Technology, and Public Policy program's framework for analyzing intersections of technology, society, and governance.