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Master of Science (M.S.)

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Computer Science

• GPA: 3.83/4.00

Master of Science (M.S.)

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Civil and Environmental Engineering

• GPA: 3.90/4.00
• Dissertation: Behavioral Analysis and Impact Assessment of Automated Driving Systems' Interaction with Traffic Light

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) Candidate

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Civil and Environmental Engineering

• Advisor: Dr. Xiaopeng Li, Dr. Sikai Chen

Master of Engineering (M.Eng)

Tongji University, China

Transportation Engineering

• GPA: 3.80/4.00
• Advisor: Dr. Jian Sun, Dr. Ye Tian, Dr. Anthony Chen (Hong Kong Polytechnic University)
• Dissertation: Simulation-Based Optimization for Highway Active Management Strategies Design
• Honors: Distinctive Graduate Student of Tongji University

Bachelor of Engineering (B.Eng)

Hunan University, China

Civil Engineering

• GPA: 3.68/4.00
• Honors: Distinctive Bachelor's Degree Graduate of Hunan Province, Distinctive Bachelor's Degree Graduate of Hunan University

Project Assistant

Human-centered AI & Transportation Laboratory, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Proposal writing for CCAT and connected/intelligent transportation.

• Proposals: CCAT security defense (game-theoretic); CCAT connected ITS for vulnerable road user safety.

Research Assistant

Human-centered AI & Transportation Laboratory, University of Wisconsin-Madison

CIM–GIS interoperability for infrastructure asset management.

• CIM-to-GIS pipeline (WisDOT): ArcGIS–Civil 3D data exchange; schema mapping, coordinate transformation, QA; consistent GIS publishing and versioned updates.

Project Assistant

Connected & Autonomous Transportation Systems Laboratory, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Proposal and report writing for USDOT, WisDOT, FHWA, NSF, and related agencies.

• Proposals: USDOT Tribal & Rural AVs; WisDOT Wildlife Crossings; FHWA data structure and BIM/pavement QA.
• Reports: FHWA Realistic AV Behavior; FDOT Infrastructure Enablers for CDA; NSF Cyber-Physical Phases and Meta-Learning for AVs.

Research Assistant

Connected & Autonomous Transportation Systems Laboratory, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Digital twin, cooperative driving automation, meta-learning for AVs, ADS behavior datasets, driver cognition modeling, LLM-based agents, and closed-loop simulation for end-to-end autonomous driving.

• Digital Twin Framework: Built front-end for highway traffic digital twin web app (Leaflet, Unity); real-time traffic flow, weather, incident detection, CCTV streaming.
• Infrastructure Enablers for CDA (FDOT): State-of-the-art CDA sensing/communication and scenario-based testing, hardware-in-the-loop co-simulation at SunTrax.
• NSF Meta-Learning for AVs: Markov property tests and GMM+Fourier string stability; 2025 TRB Best Paper Award. Homogeneous AV platoon oscillation under control latency.
• USDOT Realistic AV Behavior: Curated 80k+ ADS–traffic signal/sign segments from Waymo; 25+ miles ADAS trajectories; YOLOv8 drone trajectory reconstruction; SUMO impact evaluation.
• Driver cognition in high-risk scenarios: Drift-diffusion decision models for cut-in, rear-end, lane change; cognition-aware kinematic patterns.
• LLM-Based Agents: RESPOND (risk-pattern memory + rule/LLM pipeline); improved retrieval/reflection, fewer collisions in highway-env, lower risk in highD.
• Closed-loop evaluation in CARLA for end-to-end autonomous driving; performance vs. scenario rarity.

Autonomous Vehicle Test Engineer Intern

NIO

AV simulation and evaluation pipeline.

• Apollo-simulator–aligned testing workflow; parameterized task configs; Python batch runs and RESTful result collection; Pandas/NumPy metrics and Excel dashboards.

Research Intern (Advised by Dr. Qi Luo)

Decision Intelligence & Analytics Laboratory, Clemson University

RL for traffic assignment and sustainable transportation; internal Wiki knowledge base from 40+ papers.

• Reviewed RL in traffic assignment and sustainable transport; synthesized by problem type (routing, signal control, pricing) into Wiki.

Research Assistant

Traffic Operations & Simulation Laboratory, Tongji University

Simulation-based optimization, city-scale mesoscopic simulation, and dynamic traffic assignment.

• NSFC: ML-accelerated SBO for bus lane allocation; 5.05% network improvement. CTM-based metamodel + Adaptive Hyperbox for highway ATM; up to 70% delay reduction.
• City-scale mesoscopic DTA digital twin: network coding, OD estimation, time-dependent routing, strategy testing.
• Tencent: Real-time path recognition, OD estimation, and path assignment for mesoscopic simulation.

A Multi-Modal Synchronized Dataset for Benchmarking ADAS Responses to Traffic Control Devices

37th IEEE Intelligent Vehicles Symposium (IV), Detroit, USA

Li, Z., Zhang, P., Zhou, H., Liang, S., Li, Q., Yao, H., & Li, X. (2026).

Benchmarking Tesla's Traffic Light and Stop Sign Control: Field Dataset and Behavior Insights

105th TRB, Washington DC

Li, Z., Zhang, P., Zhou, H., Liang, S., Li, Q., Yao, H., & Li, X. (2026).

Agentic AI for Cooperative Perception in Connected Driving Scenarios

105th TRB, Washington DC

Ma, C., Liang, S., Cao, B., Li, Z., Long, K., & Li, X. (2026).

Behavioral Analysis and Impact Evaluation of Automated Driving Systems' Interaction with Traffic Lights

105th Transportation Research Board (TRB), Washington DC

Li, Z., Li, Y., Li, Q., Yao, H., Li, X., Hourdos, J., & McHale, G. (2026).

Assessing Markov Property in Driving Behaviors: Insights from Statistical Tests

Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review (SCI, IF=8.8)

Li, Z., Meng, H., Ma, C., Ma, K., & Li, X. (2026).

Simulation-Based Optimization of Highway Active Traffic Management Strategies Design

IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems (SCI, IF=8.4)

Li, Z., Sun, J., Meng, H., & Tian, Y. (2026).

Leveraging Microscopic Simulation to Enhance the Design of Highway Active Traffic Management Strategies

2025 IEEE Intelligent Vehicles Symposium (IV), Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Li, Z., Sun, J., Meng, H., & Tian, Y. (2025).

Leveraging Vehicle Sensors to Digital Twin for Work Zone Safety and Optimization

2025 Safety and Mobility Conference (SMC), Madison, USA

Li, H., Long, K., Liang, Z., Ma, C., Cao, B., Li, Z., & Li, X. (2025).

Automated Vehicle Longitudinal Stability Analysis: Controller Design and Field Test

104th TRB, Washington DC

Ma, K., Zhou, H., Zhang, Y., Shi, H., Ma, C., Li, Z., Zhang, P., Liang, Z., & Li, X. (2025).

Interaction Dataset of Autonomous Vehicles with Traffic Lights and Signs

104th TRB, Washington DC

Li, Z., Bao, Z., Meng, H., Shi, H., Li, Q., Yao, H., & Li, X. (2025).

Understanding Driver Risk Responses and Proactive Decision-Making Behaviors in High-Risk Scenarios

104th TRB, Washington DC

Li, Z., Huang, H., Cheng, H., Jiang, J., Li, X., & Zgonnikov, A. (2025).

Assessing Markov Property in Driving Behaviors: Insights from Statistical Tests

104th TRB, Washington DC (TRB AED60 Best Paper Award)

Li, Z., Meng, H., Ma, C., Ma, K., & Li, X. (2025).

Interaction Dataset of Autonomous Vehicles with Traffic Lights and Signs

Communications in Transportation Research (SCI, IF=14.5)

Li, Z., Bao, Z., Meng, H., Shi, H., Li, Q., Yao, H., & Li, X. (2025).

AI-Enabled Digital Twin Framework for Safe and Sustainable Intelligent Transportation

Sustainability, 17(10), 4391 (SCI, IF=3.3)

Long, K., Ma, C., Li, H., Li, Z., et al. (2025).

Understanding driver cognition and decision-making behaviors in high-risk scenarios: A drift diffusion perspective

Accident Analysis & Prevention, 220, 108123 (SCI, IF=6.2)

Huang, H., Li, Z., Cheng, H., Wang, H., Jiang, J., Li, X., & Zgonnikov, A. (2025).

Human decision-making in high-risk driving scenarios: A cognitive modeling perspective

2024 IEEE IAVVC, Pittsburgh, USA

Li, Z., Huang, H., Cheng, H., Jiang, J., Li, X., & Zgonnikov, A. (2024).

Optimization of Incentive-Based Carpooling Scheme (in Chinese)

Journal of South China University of Technology (EI)

Sun, J., Wu, J., Li, Z., & Tian, Y. (2023).

Simulation-Based Optimization of Variable Speed Limit Control Strategy at Freeway Recurrent Bottlenecks

102nd TRB, Washington DC

Mei, Y., Li, Z., Tian, Y., Sun, J., Tang, J., & Fu, Q. (2022).

Simulation-Based Optimization of Large-Scale Dedicated Bus Lanes Allocation: Using Efficient Machine Learning Models as Surrogates

Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies, 143, 103827 (SCI, IF=7.9)

Li, Z., Tian, Y., Sun, J., Lu, X., & Kan, Y. (2022).

Real-Time Traffic Signal Control of Logistic Park Based on Web Crawler Technology

World Transport Conference (WTC), Xi'an, China

Li, J., Li, R., Yue, Y., & Li, Z. (2021).

TRB AED60 Committee Best Paper Award

104th Transportation Research Board

Paper: Assessing Markov Property in Driving Behaviors: Insights from Statistical Tests.

First Prize, Huawei Cup 18th Chinese Graduate Mathematical Modeling Competition (Rank 32/8425)

Huawei Cup

Paper: Modelling and optimization for anti-cancer drug candidates.

Second Prize, Hunan Province, Chinese Undergraduate Mathematical Modeling Competition

Hunan Province

Paper: Four-layer dynamic heat transfer model based on partial differential equations.

Honorable Mention, American Undergraduate Mathematical Contest in Modeling

COMAP

Paper: An improved model to evaluate the fragility of a country.

Non-US Patent: Simulation-based optimization of dedicated bus lanes allocation (surrogate-assisted evolutionary algorithm)

2021110985103

Non-US Patent: Simulation-based optimization of large-scale en-route diversion using Partial Least Squares Kriging

2022104052512

Distinguished Masters' Scholarship

Tongji University

Distinguished Undergraduates in Hunan Province

Hunan Province

Distinguished Undergraduates at Hunan University

Hunan University

Outstanding Students, Hunan University (10 in cohort)

Hunan University

China National Inspirational Scholarship

Ministry of Education

Awarded 2017, 2018, 2019.