Ahsan Habib

Dr. Ahsan Habib is a transportation professor at Dalhousie University. He received a PhD degree in civil engineering from the University of Toronto. His research interests include transportation modelling, microsimulation of urban systems and smarter mobility planning. He is the founder of Dalhousie Transportation Collaboratory (DalTRAC), a CFI-sponsored lab under the Leaders Opportunity Grant program. His multidisciplinary research agenda has attracted funding from all tri-council granting agencies, including NSERC discovery grant, two SSHRC insights team grants and a CIHR grant. He has over 10 years of professional experience in transportation planning and policy analysis. He has served on the US National Academy of Sciences committees for Travel Behaviour and Values (ADB10), Transportation and Sustainability (ADD40), and Effects of ICT on Travel Choices (ADB20). He is the vice-president of the International Professional Association of Transport and Health, and vice-chair of the Integrated Climate Change committee of the Transportation Association of Canada.

In his own words

Why does policy matter?

Policy shapes how we build cities, move people around and plan for a smarter, more sustainable future. In many ways, policies influence our everyday life - the places where we live, work and play, the technology that we use, and the social and cultural life that we cherish to enjoy.    

What do I hope to accomplish during my time as a founding fellow?

I would like to contribute to evidence-based policy making, specifically in the field of transportation and smart infrastructure. We will collaborate with the researchers at MacEachen Institute on several projects, including multidisciplinary analysis and training of evacuation from coastal floods, and planning for technology-based mobility opportunities. I hope to build a solid nexus between the Institute and my research lab that helps us to use advanced transport modelling and simulation for public policy-making and civic engagement.