Xiaobo Qu is a Professor and research group leader at the Division of Geology and Geotechnics, Urban Mobility Systems research group, Chalmers University of Technology. Throughout his academic career, he has endeavored to practically improve transport safety, efficiency, equity, and sustainability through traffic flow modeling, network optimization, and most recently, emerging technologies. In particular, his research has been applied to the improvement of emergency services, operations of electric vehicles and connected automated vehicles, and management of vulnerable road users. He has authored or co-authored over 90 articles published in leading transport engineering journals, and is a recipient of many prestigious awards. His research has been supported by the Australian Research Council Discovery Programme, Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads, Sydney Trains, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Swedish Innovation Agency Vinnova, and the European Union. Xiaobo is currently an Associate Editor/Editorial Board Member for IEEE Trans. on Cybernetics, IEEE ITS Magazine, Journal of Transportation Engineering ASCE, Transportation Research Part A, Computer-Aided Civil and Infrastructure Engineering, etc. Lu Zhen is a Professor and Dean in the School of Management at Shanghai University. He got his B.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 2003 and 2008, respectively. He worked at National University of Singapore as a postdoctoral scholar before joining Shanghai University in 2011. His research interests include logistics and supply chain management, operations research, optimization in port and shipping management, and knowledge management. He has published 75 SCI and SSCI journals including Transportation Science, Transportation Research Part B, Naval Research Logistics, and IISE Transactions. He is the PI of 15 projects including four at the national level. He has served as an associate editor/editorial board member of four SCI/SSC journals such as Transportation Research Part B (ABS 4), Journal of the Operational Research (ABS 3), Computers & Operations Research (ABS 3); and he is also the Fellow of the Operational Research Society (U.K.). He has been awarded Changjiang Young Scholar in China. Dr. Robert Howlett is the Executive Chair of KES International, a non-profit organization that facilitates the dissemination of research results in areas including intelligent systems, sustainability, and knowledge transfer. A Visiting Professor at Bournemouth University, UK, his technical expertise concerns the use of intelligent systems to solve industrial problems. He has been successful in applying artificial intelligence, machine learning, and related technologies to sustainability and renewable energy systems; condition monitoring, diagnostic tools and systems; and automotive electronics and engine management systems. His current research focuses on the use of smart microgrids to achieve reduced energy costs and lower carbon emissions in areas such as housing and protected horticulture. Dr. Lakhmi C. Jain, Ph.D., M.E., Fellow (Engineers Australia), is currently serving at the University of Technology Sydney, Australia, and Liverpool Hope University, UK. Professor Jain also serves at KES International, which provides the professional community with opportunities for publication, knowledge exchange, cooperation, and team-building. Involving over 5,000 researchers drawn from universities and companies worldwide, KES facilitates international cooperation and generates synergies in teaching and research. KES regularly provides networking opportunities for the professional community through one of the largest conferences of its kind.
