Alyssa Ryan
- Assistant Professor, Civil Engineering-Engineering Mechanics
- Member of the Graduate Faculty
- (520) 621-2266
- Civil Engineering, Rm. 340
- Tucson, AZ 85721
- alyssaryan@arizona.edu
Biography
Alyssa Ryan is an assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering and Mechanics at the University of Arizona and assistant director of the Center for Applied Transportation Sciences (CATS). Her research primarily focuses on the intersection of transportation safety and equity with human factors, unmanned aerial system (UAS) applications, traffic operations, and resource allocation. Her research has been disseminated through numerous journal articles, including Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behavior, Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, and Accident Analysis and Prevention.
Ryan is an active member of several professional societies and committees, including ITE and ASCE. She currently serves as member and executive team member of two Transportation Research Board Committees, including the Women and Gender in Transportation Committee and the Strategic Management Committee. She also serves at the Case Studies Subcommittee Chair of the ITE Equity Committee.
Degrees
- Ph.D. Civil Engineering
- University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts, United States
- Equitable Resource Allocation to Improve Safety: An Evaluation Based on Risk
- M.S. Civil Engineering
- University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts, United States
- Driver Performance due to Unmanned Aerial System Applications in the Vicinity of Surface Transportation
- B.S. Civil Engineering
- University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts, United States
Work Experience
- Technical University of Munich (2020 - 2021)
- Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. (2018)
- John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (2017 - 2018)
- Binghamton Metropolitan Transportation Study (2016)
- Cape Cod Commission (2015)
Awards
- Fly-In Travel Award
- American Society of Civil Engineers Legislative, Spring 2022
- Clemens Herschel Award
- Boston Society of Civil Engineers Section, Fall 2021
- Ernest T. and Rae N. Selig Transportation Program Fellowship
- UMass Amherst College of Engineering, Spring 2021
- Runner-up
- American Society of Civil Engineers Jack E. Leisch Memorial Graduate Fellowship, Spring 2021
- Traffic Safety Scholar
- Lifesavers Conference, Spring 2021
- Lifesavers Conference, Spring 2020
- American Society of Civil Engineers Legislative Fly-In Travel Award
- American Society of Civil Engineers, Spring 2020
- Daniel B. Fambro Student Paper Award
- Northeastern Institute of Transportation Engineers, Spring 2020
- Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship
- The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Spring 2020
- The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Spring 2019
- The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Spring 2018
- ITE Upstate New York Section Scholarship
- ITE Upstate New York Section, Spring 2020
- ITE Upstate New York Section, Spring 2018
- One-Year Research Grant for Doctoral Candidates
- German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), Spring 2020
- Spring 2020 Dean’s Fellow
- UMass Amherst College of Engineering, Spring 2020
- U.S. Fulbright Study/Research Award - Germany Research
- U.S. Fulbright, Spring 2020
- Third Place in Transportation Safety
- ARTBA Student Video Contest, Fall 2019
- First Place Poster Award
- ITE Northeastern District, Spring 2019
- Graduate Thomas E. Desjardins Scholarship
- New England ITE, Spring 2019
- New England ITS Joseph Sussman Award
- New England Section of the Institute of Transportation Engineers, Spring 2019
- Second Place
- ITE & FHWA HSIS Research Paper Competition, Spring 2019
- TRB Women’s Issues in Transportation Conference Travel Award
- Women’s Issues in Transportation, Spring 2019
- WTS Rhode Island Leadership Legacy Award
- Women’s Transportation Seminar, Spring 2019
- Best Oral Presentation
- SAFER-SIM UTC Conference, Spring 2018
- ITE Connecticut Chapter Scholarship
- New England Section of the Institute of Transportation Engineers, Spring 2018
- Second Place Poster Award
- ITE Northeastern District, Spring 2018
Licensure & Certification
- Engineer-In-Training, Vermont Board of Professional Engineering (2017)
Interests
Teaching
Transportation safety; Transportation statistics; Traffic flow theory; Human factors
Research
Travel behavior; Human factors; Driving simulation; Transportation safety; Transportation equity; Driver behavior; Traffic operations; Pedestrians and cyclists; Intelligent transportation systems
Courses
2024-25 Courses
-
Directed Research
PSYS 392 (Fall 2024) -
Dissertation
CE 920 (Fall 2024) -
Research Topics
CE 596A (Fall 2024) -
Stats Methods in Transp Engr
CE 461A (Fall 2024) -
Stats Methods in Transp Engr
CE 561A (Fall 2024) -
Transport Eng+Pave Dsgn
CE 363 (Fall 2024)
2023-24 Courses
-
Dissertation
CE 920 (Spring 2024) -
Dissertation
CE 920 (Fall 2023) -
Traffic Safety
CE 467 (Fall 2023) -
Traffic Safety
CE 567 (Fall 2023)
2022-23 Courses
-
Dissertation
CE 920 (Spring 2023) -
Independent Study
CE 599 (Spring 2023) -
Dissertation
CE 920 (Fall 2022) -
Stats Methods in Transp Engr
CE 461A (Fall 2022) -
Stats Methods in Transp Engr
CE 561A (Fall 2022)
2021-22 Courses
-
Dissertation
CE 920 (Spring 2022) -
Traffic Safety
CE 467 (Spring 2022) -
Traffic Safety
CE 567 (Spring 2022)
Scholarly Contributions
Journals/Publications
- Pan, M., & Ryan, A. (2023). Segmenting the target audience for transportation demand management programs: An investigation between mode shift and individual characteristics. International Journal of Sustainable Transportation, 18(1). doi:10.1080/15568318.2023.2201941
- Pan, M., & Ryan, A. M. (2023). Equity in Sustainable Transportation: An Investigation of Barriers and Individual and Contextual Factors. Transportation Research Record. doi:10.1177/03611981221143106
- Pan, M., & Ryan, A. M. (2023). How to select distracted driving countermeasures evaluation metrics: A systematic review. Journal of Transportation Safety & Security. doi:10.1080/19439962.2023.2233104
- Pan, M., Isham, E. A., & Ryan, A. M. (2023). Developing a small participant framework: An investigation of mode choice influential factors. Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives, 22, 100978. doi:10.1016/j.trip.2023.100978
- Ryan, A. M., Ai, C., Fitzpatrick, C., & Knodler, M. (2023). Developing a Geospatial Safety Analysis Tool: A Systematic Approach to Identify Safety-Critical Horizontal Curve Segments and Hazardous Contributing Factors. Journal of Transportation Engineering, Part A: Systems, 149(7), 04023051. doi:10.1061/JTEPBS.TEENG-7258
- Pan, M., & Ryan, A. M. (2022). Investigating Confirmation Bias in Transportation: An Analysis of Perceived Health Risk on Public Transit During the Pandemic. Journal of Transport and Health, 26(101485). doi:10.1016/j.jth.2022.101485
- Ryan, A. M., & Knodler, M. (2022). Influential crash conditions leading to injury differences experienced by female and male drivers. Journal of Transport and Health, 24.
- Ryan, A. M., Ai, C., Fitzpatrick, C., & Knodler, M. (2022). Crash proximity and equivalent property damage calculation techniques: An investigation using a novel horizontal curve dataset. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 166, 106550. doi:10.1016/j.aap.2021.106550
- Ryan, A. M., Hennessy, E., Ai, C., Kwon, W., Fitzpatrick, C., & Knodler, M. (2022). Driver performance at horizontal curves: Bridging critical research gaps to increase safety. New Traffic Safety Concepts Special Issue of Traffic Safety Research, 3(000014). doi:10.55329/lmji8901
- Ryan, A. (2021). What Type of Crash Can We Expect? Designing for Safety at Common Traffic Control Devices. Institute of Transportation Engineers. ITE Journal, 91(6), 34--38.
- Ryan, A. M., Ai, C., Knodler, M., & Fitzpatrick, C. (2021). Evaluation of small unmanned aerial system highway volume and speed‐sensing applications. IET Intelligent Transport Systems, 15, 84-97. doi:10.1049/itr2.12006
- Ryan, A. M., Barchers, C., Christofaa, E., & Knodlera, M. (2021). Equitable resource allocation for municipal safety: A data envelopment analysis. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 97.
- Ryan, A. M., Zafian, T., Agrawal, R., Samuelc, S., & Knodlerd, M. (2021). Using SHRP2 NDS data to examine infrastructure and other factors contributing to older driver crashes during left turns at signalized intersections. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 156.
- Ryan, A., Christofa, E., Barchers, C., & Knodler, M. (2021). The relationship between municipal highway expenditures and socio-demographic status: Are safety investments equitably distributed?. Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives, 9, 100321.
- Zafian, T., Ryan, A., Agrawal, R., Samuel, S., & Knodler, M. (2021). Using SHRP2 NDS data to examine infrastructure and other factors contributing to older driver crashes during left turns at signalized intersections. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 156, 106141. doi:10.1016/j.aap.2021.106141More infoDrivers age 65 and over have higher rates of crashes and crash-related fatalities than other adult drivers and are especially over-represented in crashes during left turns at intersections. This research investigated the use of SHRP2 Naturalistic Driving Study (NDS) data to assess infrastructure and other factors contributing to left turn crashes at signalized intersections, and how to improve older driver safety during such turns. NDS data for trips involving signalized intersections and crash or near-crash events were obtained for two driver age groups: drivers age 65 and over (older drivers) and a sample of drivers age 30-49, along with NDS pre-screening and questionnaire data. Video scoring of all trips was performed to collect additional information on intersection and trip conditions. To identify the most influential factors of crash risk during left turns at signalized intersections, machine learning and regression models were used. The results found that in the obtained NDS dataset, there was a relatively small volume of crashes during left turns at signalized intersections. Further, model results found the statistically significant variables of crash risk for older drivers were associated more with health and cognitive factors rather than the infrastructure or design of the intersections. The results suggest that a study using only SHRP2 NDS data will not lead to definitive findings or recommendations for infrastructure changes to increase safety for older drivers at signalized intersections and during left turns. Moreover, the findings of this study indicates the need to consider other data sources and data collection methods to address this critical literature gap in older driver safety.
- Ryan, A. M., Fitzpatrick, C., Christofa, E., & Knodler, M. (2020). Driver performance due to small unmanned aerial system applications in the vicinity of roadways. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 68, 118-131. doi:10.1016/j.trf.2019.12.006
- Ryan, A. M., Tainter, F., Fitzpatrick,, C., Gazzillo, J., Riessman, R., & Knodler, M. (2020). The impact of sex on motor vehicle crash injury outcomes. Journal of Transportation Safety & Security. doi:10.1080/19439962.2020.1834478
- Ryan, A., Page, M., Christofa, E., Fitzpatric, C., & Knodler, M. (2020). Linking geospatial crash and citation data to inform equitable enforcement decisions. Journal of Transportation Safety & Security, 14(2), 256-279. doi:10.1080/19439962.2020.1774020
- Ryan, A. M., Casola, E., Fitzpatrick, C., & Knodler, M. (2019). Flashing yellow arrows for right turn applications: A driving simulator study and static evaluation analysis. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 66, 324 - 338. doi:10.1016/j.trf.2019.09.013
- Ryan, A., Bouchard, C., Fitzpatrick, C., Knodler, M., & Ahmadjian, C. (2019). Analytical Comparison of Core Competencies across Civil Engineering Positions within New England Department of Transportation Agencies. Transportation Research Record, 2673, 427-437. doi:10.1177/0361198118822296
- Ryan, A., Francis, T., Cole, F., & Michael, K. (2018). Evaluation of Downstream Merge Behaviors Resulting from Driver Lane Choice: A Driving Simulator Study. Transportation Research Record, 2672, 123-131. doi:10.1177/0361198118792128