Zheng (Zane) Li

Zheng_Li.jpg

Connected & Autonomous Transportation Systems Laboratory

6064 McKee Road

Fitchburg, Wisconsin 53719

Hi there 👋 I’m Zane, a Ph.D. student and Graduate Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, advised by Prof. Xiaopeng Li. My research focuses on intelligent transportation systems, with particular interests in driving behavior modeling and simulation, safety assessment and scenario generation for autonomous vehicles, and end-to-end autonomous driving control with closed-loop simulation.

Alongside my Ph.D. in UW–Madison, I have also earned two additional master’s degrees in Computer Sciences and Civil & Environmental Engineering. I’m passionate about bridging transportation engineering and computer science.

Before joining UW–Madison, I earned my master’s degree in Transportation Engineering from Tongji University, China, where I was advised by Prof. Jian Sun and Prof. Ye Tian.

Feel free to explore my work, reach out for collaborations, or connect with me on LinkedIn / Google Scholar. You can also email me at zli2674@wisc.edu.

news

Feb 03, 2026 My paper Simulation-Based Optimization of Highway Active Traffic Management Strategy Designs has been accepted by IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems. 🚦 This work will be available online soon.
Feb 02, 2026 My paper Assessing Markov Property in Driving Behaviors: Insights from Statistical Tests has been accepted by Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review. 📊 This work will be available online soon.
Jan 15, 2026 My paper A Multi-Modal Synchronized Dataset for Benchmarking ADAS Responses to Traffic Control Devices has been accepted by the 37th IEEE Intelligent Vehicles Symposium (IV 2026). 💡 I will present this work on June 22–25, 2026, in Detroit, MI, United States.
Oct 20, 2025 Several of my recent works have been accepted to TRB 2026 🎉:
  • Benchmarking Tesla’s Traffic Light and Stop Sign Control: Field Dataset and Behavior Insights
  • Agentic AI for Cooperative Perception in Connected Driving Scenarios
  • Behavioral Analysis and Impact Evaluation of Automated Driving Systems’ Interaction with Traffic Lights
I will be attending the conference from Jan 11–15, 2026 in Washington, D.C., to present these works 🚗📊.
Aug 31, 2025 I have received two master’s degrees from the University of Wisconsin–Madison 🎓:
  • Master of Science (MS), Computer Science
  • Master of Science (MS), Civil and Environmental Engineering
The knowledge and skills gained during my master’s studies will continue to support my journey in autonomous driving research 🚗.

selected publications

  1. li2026simulation.png
    Simulation-Based Optimization of Highway Active Traffic Management Strategy Designs
    Zheng Li, Jian Sun, Haoming Meng, and 1 more author
    IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems, 2026
    DOI
    N/A Google Scholar citations
  2. li2026assessing.png
    Assessing Markov Property in Driving Behaviors: Insights from Statistical Tests
    Zheng Li, Haoming Meng, Chengyuan Ma*, and 2 more authors
    Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, 2026
    DOI
    N/A Google Scholar citations
  3. li2025interaction.png
    Interaction Dataset of Autonomous Vehicles with Traffic Lights and Signs
    Zheng Li, Zhipeng Bao, Haoming Meng, and 4 more authors
    Communications in Transportation Research, 2025
    DOI
    N/A Google Scholar citations
  4. huang2025understanding.png
    Understanding driver cognition and decision-making behaviors in high-risk scenarios: A drift diffusion perspective
    Heye Huang, Zheng Li*, Hao Cheng, and 4 more authors
    Accident Analysis & Prevention, 2025
    DOI
    N/A Google Scholar citations
  5. li2022simulation.png
    Simulation-based optimization of large-scale dedicated bus lanes allocation: Using efficient machine learning models as surrogates
    Zheng Li, Ye* Tian, Jian Sun, and 2 more authors
    Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies, 2022
    DOI
    N/A Google Scholar citations