About

I’m a transportation engineering researcher focused on natural-hazard-driven infrastructure resilience, traffic-flow modeling, climate-informed risk assessment for U.S. rail networks, and decision-support tools for resilient infrastructure systems. My work blends operations, climate data, simulation, and governance-aware planning to help agencies harden critical assets and keep people and goods moving.

News

• 2024-07: TRR paper on LBCS macroscopic congestion patterns published.
• 2023-03: Oregon State University Mentor Match feature.

Experience

Period	Position
08/2026–Present	Assistant Professor, School of Environmental, Civil, Agricultural, and Mechanical Engineering, University of Georgia
09/2025–2026	Postdoctoral Scholar, Clemson University, Glenn Department of Civil Engineering
03/2025–09/2025	Postdoctoral Scholar, Oregon State University, School of Civil and Construction Engineering
2021–2025	Graduate Research Assistant / Ph.D. Student, Oregon State University
2018–2020	Graduate Research Assistant, CUTR, University of South Florida
2016–2018	Teaching Assistant, Florida Gulf Coast University

Degrees: Ph.D., Oregon State University; M.S., University of South Florida; B.S., Florida Gulf Coast University.

Publications (Selected)

1. Staes, B.M., Wang, H., Bertini, R.L. Development of a Length-Based Cell-State Framework Toward the Re-Creation of Large-Scale Dense Congestion Patterns. Transportation Research Record.
2. Liu, C., Staes, B.M., Wang, H. Evacuation time estimates for life safety in tsunami hazards. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 119, 105327.
3. Ghoreishi, B., Staes, B.M., Liu, C., Wang, H. Mapping Climate Extremes and Infrastructure Vulnerability: A New Database for U.S. Railroads.
4. Staes, B.M., Ghoreishi, B., Liu, C., Wang, H. Future extreme heat will require multi-billion-dollar rail upgrades and continual maintenance in the United States.
5. Siam, M.R.K., Staes, B.M., Lindell, M.K., Wang, H. Lessons Learned From the 2018 Attica Wildfire. Fire Technology.
6. Staes, B.M., Menon, N., Bertini, R.L. Examining Freeway Bottleneck Features During a Mass Evacuation. Transportation Research Record.

Full list and citations are available on Google Scholar.

Reports

• Improving Guidance for Speed Safety Cameras — ODOT SPR-873.
• Piloting Smart Work Zone Technology for Real-Time Lane Closure Information — ODOT SPR-860.
• Improved Systemic Analysis to Predict Roadway Safety Performance — ODOT SPR-849.
• Risk and Resilience of Railway Infrastructure — FRA C-STTAR.

Funded Proposals (Selected)

• NPS: Risk preparedness and resilience planning for evacuations — $520,524.
• FRA C-STTAR: REIN-FORCE Workforce and Rail Resilience — $1,086,384 subproject.
• FRA C-STTAR: Risk and Resilience of Railway Infrastructure — $796,506 subproject.
• ODOT: Automated Speed Enforcement Guidance — $140,000.

Talks and Conference Presentations (Selected)

• TRB 2025: Rail thermal buckling under climatic extremes.
• TRB 2024: Length-Based Cell-State congestion patterns.
• NaTMEC 2022: Radar and probe data for travel time estimation.
• ITS America 2019–2020: Visualization and congestion strategy talks.

Teaching and Guest Lectures

• Traffic flow theory, time-space diagrams, and macroscopic models.
• Signal design and timing basics; level of service of signalized intersections.
• Traffic operations.
• Evacuation modeling using ABM and least-cost paths.
• Guest lecture: Technical University of Munich, LBCS model for evacuations.

Licensure

• PE civil transportation engineering exam passed; pending years of work/teaching experience.

Awards and Honors

• CUTC Milton Pikarsky Award, Best M.S. Thesis.
• TRB Cunard Award.
• PacTrans UTC Student of the Year.
• Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship Program Fellow.
• CTEDD UTC Student of the Year.

Professional Service

• TRB AR080 Highway/Rail Grade Crossings, Young Member.
• USF ITE Student Chapter, Director of Events and Vice President.
• ASCE Student Chapter, Steel Bridge Co-Captain.