​Dr. Liu's primary research goal is to generate knowledge that stimulates applications of new and innovative strategies, technologies, and planning processes in transportation systems. His research focuses on various types of innovations related to intelligent transportation systems (ITS), connected and automated vehicles (CAVs), traffic safety and operation, urban/transportation planning, and sustainable transportation.He exploits large-scale data (from both conventional and emerging sources) and construct microscopic simulations (on agent-based modeling platforms) to understand the roles of travelers, vehicles, infrastructures and policies in transportation systems and to develop solutions to transportation challenges related to planning, operation, safety and environment.

For more information, please visit our NextGen Transportation Lab.

Funded Projects

Upcoming Projects:

  1. PI: Liu (Co-PI: Jones). Assessing the Safety Effects of Lighting at Roundabouts in Georgia, Funded by GDOT via University of Georgia – UGA. 2024 – 2026. 
  2. Co-PI: Liu (PI: Jones). Center for Regional and Rural Connected Communities (Year 2). U.S. Department of Transportation – USDOT via NCAT. 2024 – 2025. 
  3. Co-PI: Liu (PI: Bittle, Co-PIs: Balasubramanian, Jones, and Hainen). Co-E3T: Energy-Efficient and Equitable Transit through user-centric hardware and software Co-development and community Co-design, Funded by U.S. Department of Energy – DOE. 2024 – 2027. 

Current Projects: 

  1. PI: Liu (Co-PIs: Jones and Stavrinos). R01: A Multidisciplinary Approach for Tow Truck Operator Safety, Funded by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – CDC. 2024 – 2028. 
  2. Co-PI: Liu (PI: Moftakhari, Co-PI: Moradkhani). Enhancing Coastal Transportation Infrastructure Resilience to Compound Flood Impacts, Funded by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – NOAA. 2024 – 2026. 
  3. PI: Liu (Co-PIs: Jones, Oatridge, Dalal). Collaborative Research: ExLENT Pivots: Upskilling Automotive Workers for Future Electrical Vehicle Maintenance and Repair through Immersive Experiential Learning, Funded by National Science Foundation – NSF. 2024 – 2026. 
  4. Co-PI: Liu (PI: Penmetsa, Co-PI: Barnett). Enhancing Rural Road Safety: Leveraging Connected Vehicle Hard Braking Data for Safer Two-Lane Highways, Funded by Alabama Department of Transportation – ALDOT. 
  5. Co-PI: Liu (PI: Jones). 2024-2025 Software Development And Support For Improved Traffic Safety, Funded by Alabama Department of Transportation – ALDOT. 2024 – 2025. 
  6. Co-PI: Liu (PI: Lidbe, Co-PI: Jones). Community-Assisted Rideshare Service (CAReS) for Rural Communities. Funded by USDOT via North Carolina A&T. 2024 – 2025. 
  7. PI: Liu (Co-PI: Jones). Safety Effectiveness of Inside Shoulder Widths on Freeways in Georgia, Funded by GDOT via University of Georgia – UGA. 2023 – 2025. 
  8. Co-PI: Liu (PI: Jones, Co-PIs: Qian and Dalal). Center of Excellence on New Mobility and Automated Vehicles, Funded by USDOT via UCLA. 2023 – 2028. 
  9. Co-PI: Liu (PI: Jones). Mobility hubs and Shared Autonomous Vehicles (SAVs) – harnessing the benefits of private and public mobility for the last mile of Transit-Oriented Development (TOD), Funded by KTH Royal Institute of Technology. 2023 – 2025. 
  10. PI: Liu (Co-PIs: Lee, Welch, Cheshire, Wood, Jones, Pate, and McKinney). SCC-PG: Building a smart and connected rural community for improved healthcare access through the deployment of integrated mobility solutions, Funded by National Science Foundation – NSF. 2023 – 2025. 
  11. PI: Liu (Co-PI: Hainen and Pate). Exploring Large-Scale Crowdsourced Connected Vehicle Data (CVD) to Support Alabama Transportation Decision-Making, Funded by Alabama Department of Transportation – ALDOT. 2023 – 2025. 
  12. Co-PI: Liu (PI: Qian, Co-PIs: Hainen, Jones and Pate). SMART: Community-driven Regional Mobility Engine for Accessible and Equitable Multi-modal Public Transportation in Central Alabama, Funded by USDOT via Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham, 2023 – 2024. 
  13. Co-PI: Liu (PI: Jones, Co-PI: Qian). Center for Regional and Rural Connected Communities, Funded by USDOT via North Carolina A&T. 2023 – 2024.
  14. Co-PI: Liu (PI: Shi, Co-PIs: Qian, Myers and Shah). FW-HTF-P: Augmenting first responders’ task performance for the future electric vehicle emergency responses, Funded by National Science Foundation – NSF. 2022 – 2024. 
  15. PI: Liu (Co-PI: Jones). Development of Safety Performance Functions for Urban and Suburban Multilane Highways in Georgia, Funded by GDOT via University of Georgia. 2022 – 2024. 
  16. PI: Liu (Co-PIs: Hainen and Qian). Managing the Traffic Impacts of Highway Infrastructure Constructions: A Framework for Construction Planning, Funded by Alabama Department of Transportation – ALDOT. 2021 – 2024. 
  17. Co-PI: Liu (PI: Hainen, Co-PIs: Balasubramanian, Bittle and Smith). Advanced Connected Transportation Infrastructure and Operations Network (ACTION), Funded by U.S. Department of Transportation – USDOT. 2019 – 2025. 

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Completed Projects:

  1. PI: Liu (Co-PIs: Hainen, Jones, Burdette, Barnett and Smith). Proactive Traffic Incident Management in Alabama, Funded by Alabama Department of Transportation – ALDOT. 2020 – 2024. 
  2. PI: Liu (Co-PI: Jones and Pate). Developing a Near-Miss Reporting System for Roadside Responders, Funded by AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety – AAAFTS. 2023 – 2024. 
  3. PI: Liu (Co-PIs: Penmetsa, Hainen, Barnett and Smyth). Identifying Countermeasures to Protect Roadside Service and Incident Response Personnel, Funded by AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety – AAAFTS. 2020 – 2022. 
  4. PI: Liu (Co-PIs: Jones and Smith). Development of Alabama-Specific Safety Performance Functions for Intersections, Funded by Alabama Department of Transportation – ALDOT​. 2019 – 2022. 
  5. PI: Liu (Co-PIs: Penmetsa, Nambisan and Barnett). Safety Performance of Rural Four-Lane Undivided Roadways and Rural Four-Lane Roadways with a Two-Way Left-Turn Lane, Funded by Georgia Department of Transportation – GDOT. 2019 – 2021. 
  6. PI: Liu. An Agent-Based Activity Model to Track the Transmission of Communicable Diseases in Small Cities, Funded by ORED Internal Funding. 2020 – 2021. 
  7. PI: Liu (Co-PIs: Penmetsa, Li, Bredikhina, Rafique, Hainen, Tedla and Smyth). A Cost-Benefit Analysis of Widening of Alabama SR-167: A Macroscopic Study, Funded by Wiregrass Economic Development Corporation – WEDC. 2019 – 2020. 
  8. PI: Liu (Co-PI: Jones). Crash Modification Factor Guidance for Highway Safety Improvement Program in Alabama, Funded by Alabama Department of Transportation – ALDOT. 2019 – 2020. 
  9. PI: Liu. RGC Small Grant 2019 Area A: Preparing Small Cities for Shared Mobility with Autonomous Vehicles: A Case Study of Tuscaloosa, Alabama Area, Funded by ORED Internal Funding. 2019 – 2020. 
  10. Co-PI: Liu (PI: Nambisan, Co-PIs: Hainen, Ijaz, Polunsky and Smith). I-10 Mobile River Bridge: A Macroscopic Study of No-Build Implications, Funded by Alabama Department of Transportation – ALDOT. 2019 – 2019.