Published on 09/09/202509/09/2025 by Scientist Day Assist. Prof. Dr. Zahra Amini | Emerging Technologies | Best Researcher Award Assist. Prof. Dr. Zahra Amini | Sharif University of Technology | Iran Dr. Zahra Amini is an Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering at Sharif University of Technology, specializing in intelligent transportation systems, sustainable mobility, and operations research for urban traffic management. She earned her Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, and has led impactful projects in Iran and the U.S., ranging from corridor management to urban traffic resilience. With several high-impact publications, awards, and ongoing research on data-driven and machine learning approaches to transportation systems, she is recognized for advancing reliable, sustainable, and intelligent urban mobility solutions. Academic Profile Google Scholar Education Dr. Zahra Amini completed her higher education in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, where she advanced her expertise in transportation systems and sustainable infrastructure. Alongside her major studies, she pursued minors in Industrial Engineering, Operations Research, and City and Regional Planning, which provided her with a strong interdisciplinary foundation. Her doctoral thesis focused on data-driven approaches for developing robust signal plans in urban transportation networks, reflecting her commitment to integrating advanced analytical methods with practical engineering challenges. This academic background equipped her with the technical knowledge and research skills that now define her scholarly and professional contributions. Professional Experience Dr. Amini serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at Sharif University of Technology, where she teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses. Her teaching portfolio includes systems engineering, traffic engineering, and advanced transportation analysis, complemented by the design of a specialized course in Intelligent Transportation Systems. In addition to her academic role, she manages several research and development projects aimed at improving urban transportation and logistics planning. She has also gained international experience through her work at California Partners for Advanced Transportation Technology, contributing to projects focused on corridor management and traffic system optimization. Research Interests Dr. Amini’s research is centered on intelligent transportation systems, sustainable mobility solutions, and operations research applications in transportation system design. She focuses on integrating data-driven and machine learning methods to analyze and improve urban traffic flow, evaluate network resilience, and design reliable transport strategies. Her work also explores the operational sustainability of urban traffic networks and the role of intelligent systems in shaping resilient cities. By bridging theoretical models with applied research, she contributes innovative solutions to the pressing challenges of modern transportation. Awards and Honors Dr. Amini has received recognition for her teaching and research contributions through multiple awards. She has been honored for designing innovative courses in Intelligent Transportation Systems and has secured research grants supporting the development of advanced mobility solutions. Her scholarly excellence has been acknowledged with distinctions such as best paper and best presentation awards at international conferences. Additionally, she has been awarded prestigious fellowships that supported her academic journey and research endeavors, reflecting her status as a promising leader in the field of transportation engineering. Publications Agent-Based Modeling for Sustainable Urban Passenger Vehicle Mobility: A Case of TehranAuthor: M.E. Doraki, A. Avami, M. Boroushaki, Z. AminiJournal: Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment Year: 2024 Optimizing offsets in signalized traffic networks: A case studyAuthor: Z. Amini, S. Coogan, C. Flores, A. Skabardonis, P. VaraiyaJournal: IEEE Conference on Control Technology and Applications (CCTA) Year: 2018 The Impact of Network Indices Integration on Traffic Flow Imputation Accuracy: A Machine Learning ApproachAuthor: S. Sabzekar, A. Roudbari, A. Dehghani, A. Safaeiestalkhzir, Z. AminiJournal: IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems Year: 2025 Using neural network for predicting hourly origin-destination matrices from trip data and environmental informationAuthor: E. Hassanzadeh, Z. AminiJournal: Scientia Iranica Year: 2024 Unsupervised learning for topological classification of transportation networksAuthor: S. Sabzekar, M.R.V. Malakshah, Z. AminiJournal: arXiv preprint – Year: 2023 Data-Driven Approaches for Robust Signal Plans in Urban Transportation NetworksAuthor: Z. AminiJournal: University of California, Berkeley (Thesis) Year: 2018 Spatial network-wide traffic flow imputation with graph neural networkAuthor: S. Sabzekar, R. Bahmani, M. Ghasemi, Z. AminiJournal: International Journal of Intelligent Transportation Systems Research Year: 2025 Analyzing the impacts of gasoline price change on nationwide trip demand and drivers’ behavior using regression discontinuity designAuthor: S. Saeidi, Z. AminiJournal: Scientia Iranica Year: 2024 Conclusion Dr. Zahra Amini’s distinguished academic background, impactful research in intelligent and sustainable transportation systems, and recognized leadership in advancing innovative solutions firmly establish her as an outstanding candidate for the Best Researcher Award. Her dedication to bridging research, education, and real-world applications makes her not only deserving of this recognition but also a valuable contributor to the global scientific community. Zahra Amini | Emerging Technologies | Best Researcher Award
Dr. Zahra Amini is an Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering at Sharif University of Technology, specializing in intelligent transportation systems, sustainable mobility, and operations research for urban traffic management. She earned her Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, and has led impactful projects in Iran and the U.S., ranging from corridor management to urban traffic resilience. With several high-impact publications, awards, and ongoing research on data-driven and machine learning approaches to transportation systems, she is recognized for advancing reliable, sustainable, and intelligent urban mobility solutions. Academic Profile Google Scholar Education Dr. Zahra Amini completed her higher education in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, where she advanced her expertise in transportation systems and sustainable infrastructure. Alongside her major studies, she pursued minors in Industrial Engineering, Operations Research, and City and Regional Planning, which provided her with a strong interdisciplinary foundation. Her doctoral thesis focused on data-driven approaches for developing robust signal plans in urban transportation networks, reflecting her commitment to integrating advanced analytical methods with practical engineering challenges. This academic background equipped her with the technical knowledge and research skills that now define her scholarly and professional contributions. Professional Experience Dr. Amini serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at Sharif University of Technology, where she teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses. Her teaching portfolio includes systems engineering, traffic engineering, and advanced transportation analysis, complemented by the design of a specialized course in Intelligent Transportation Systems. In addition to her academic role, she manages several research and development projects aimed at improving urban transportation and logistics planning. She has also gained international experience through her work at California Partners for Advanced Transportation Technology, contributing to projects focused on corridor management and traffic system optimization. Research Interests Dr. Amini’s research is centered on intelligent transportation systems, sustainable mobility solutions, and operations research applications in transportation system design. She focuses on integrating data-driven and machine learning methods to analyze and improve urban traffic flow, evaluate network resilience, and design reliable transport strategies. Her work also explores the operational sustainability of urban traffic networks and the role of intelligent systems in shaping resilient cities. By bridging theoretical models with applied research, she contributes innovative solutions to the pressing challenges of modern transportation. Awards and Honors Dr. Amini has received recognition for her teaching and research contributions through multiple awards. She has been honored for designing innovative courses in Intelligent Transportation Systems and has secured research grants supporting the development of advanced mobility solutions. Her scholarly excellence has been acknowledged with distinctions such as best paper and best presentation awards at international conferences. Additionally, she has been awarded prestigious fellowships that supported her academic journey and research endeavors, reflecting her status as a promising leader in the field of transportation engineering.
Publications Agent-Based Modeling for Sustainable Urban Passenger Vehicle Mobility: A Case of TehranAuthor: M.E. Doraki, A. Avami, M. Boroushaki, Z. AminiJournal: Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment Year: 2024 Optimizing offsets in signalized traffic networks: A case studyAuthor: Z. Amini, S. Coogan, C. Flores, A. Skabardonis, P. VaraiyaJournal: IEEE Conference on Control Technology and Applications (CCTA) Year: 2018 The Impact of Network Indices Integration on Traffic Flow Imputation Accuracy: A Machine Learning ApproachAuthor: S. Sabzekar, A. Roudbari, A. Dehghani, A. Safaeiestalkhzir, Z. AminiJournal: IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems Year: 2025 Using neural network for predicting hourly origin-destination matrices from trip data and environmental informationAuthor: E. Hassanzadeh, Z. AminiJournal: Scientia Iranica Year: 2024 Unsupervised learning for topological classification of transportation networksAuthor: S. Sabzekar, M.R.V. Malakshah, Z. AminiJournal: arXiv preprint – Year: 2023 Data-Driven Approaches for Robust Signal Plans in Urban Transportation NetworksAuthor: Z. AminiJournal: University of California, Berkeley (Thesis) Year: 2018 Spatial network-wide traffic flow imputation with graph neural networkAuthor: S. Sabzekar, R. Bahmani, M. Ghasemi, Z. AminiJournal: International Journal of Intelligent Transportation Systems Research Year: 2025 Analyzing the impacts of gasoline price change on nationwide trip demand and drivers’ behavior using regression discontinuity designAuthor: S. Saeidi, Z. AminiJournal: Scientia Iranica Year: 2024 Conclusion Dr. Zahra Amini’s distinguished academic background, impactful research in intelligent and sustainable transportation systems, and recognized leadership in advancing innovative solutions firmly establish her as an outstanding candidate for the Best Researcher Award. Her dedication to bridging research, education, and real-world applications makes her not only deserving of this recognition but also a valuable contributor to the global scientific community.