The opening ceremony of the 2022 Transportation Series Lectures between Beijing Jiaotong University and the University of Leeds Transportation Research Institute was held on September 7, 2022, from 18:40 to 21:00 Beijing time. The first and second lectures were successfully held.  This series of lectures included eight special lectures that were organized by the School of Economics and Management of Beijing Jiaotong University and co-organized by the School of Transportation System Science and Engineering of Beijing Jiaotong University and the School of Environment of Beijing Jiaotong University. Through the Zoom online conference, renowned scholars from the Institute of Transportation at the University of Leeds were invited to share cutting-edge research in the field of transportation, and domestic and foreign transportation research experts were invited to provide in-depth comments, conducting face-to-face academic dialogues between Chinese and foreign transportation scholars online.

The 2022 Transportation Series Lectures from Beijing Jiaotong University - University of Leeds Transportation Research Institute in the UK

The opening ceremony of the 2022 Transportation Series Lectures was hosted by Professor Wang Yacan from Beijing Jiaotong University, and a welcome speech was given by Shang Xiaopu, Vice Dean of the School of Economics and Management at Beijing Jiaotong University. Vice Dean Shang Xiaopu first expressed sincere gratitude to the attending guests, and then introduced the achievements of the School of Economics and Management at Beijing Jiaotong University in the field of transportation economics, as well as the degree cooperation project jointly organized by Beijing Jiaotong University and the University of Leeds. He also stated that the two universities will establish deeper connections in the field of transportation research in the future.

Speech by Shang Xiaopu, Vice Dean of the School of Economics and Management at Beijing Jiaotong University

Subsequently, Professor Simon Shepherd, Director of the Institute of Transportation at the University of Leeds, delivered a speech. Professor Simon Shepherd also expressed gratitude to the attendees for attending the meeting, and later mentioned the existing exchange programs between the two universities, such as double master's and double doctoral programs. He pointed out that the cooperation between the two schools is of great significance for future academic advancement.

Speech by Professor Simon Shepherd, Director of the Institute of Transportation at the University of Leeds

Next, this meeting proceeded to an exciting special lecture segment. Among them, the first special lecture was given by Professor Haibo Chen from the Institute of Transportation at the University of Leeds, titled "Reducing Exhaust and Non exhaust Emissions: the MODALES Approach". Professor Qiu Zhaowen from Chang'an University and Professor Song Guohua from Beijing Jiaotong University were invited as guest reviewers; the second special lecture was delivered by information and technology expert Professor Susan Grant Muller, titled "Understanding Transport Health Interactions: What Role can New Data, Technologies and Integrated Modeling Play?". Professor Ma Xiaolei from Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Professor Xu Meng from Beijing Jiaotong University were invited as guest reviewers.

Professor Haibo Chen, the guest speaker of the first special lecture, is a full-time professor at the Institute of Transportation at the University of Leeds, with over 25 years of research experience in fields such as intelligent transportation systems, green vehicles, and environmental engineering. Most of his research involves developing intelligent traffic management measures that can alleviate congestion and reduce environmental impacts. In recent years, Professor Haibo Chen has received over 5 million euros in research funding and participated in multiple EU research projects, with a total budget exceeding 60 million euros. His research interests include clean transportation, low emissions, connected transportation, and autonomous vehicles. In addition, Professor Haibo Chen is also the research leader in spatial modeling and dynamics, and the research topic leader in interconnection and shared transportation. 

In his lecture, Professor Haibo Chen gave an academic presentation titled "Reducing Exhaust and Non-exhaust Emissions: The MODALES Approach". This study is based on the MODALES project funded by the European Union, which focuses on the impact of road traffic on local air quality and encourages the adoption of low emission driving behaviors and modification options to reduce air pollution caused by traffic. The research focuses on monitoring, modeling, and simulating the three emission sources of powertrain emissions, brake wear emissions, and tire wear emissions generated during the driving process of automobiles. In terms of monitoring, the three emission sources generated by real-life or laboratory driving behavior are monitored through testing and measurement methods; In terms of modeling, physical models, simulation simulations, mathematical models, and other methods are used to study the three types of emissions; In terms of modification, relevant technologies (such as utilization of SCR (Selective Catalyst Reduction), ACCT (Ammonia Creation&Conversion Technology), etc.) are applied to reduce air pollutant emissions; In terms of education, driving behavior education courses are added to develop an auxiliary driving app to improve driver behavior. The research results found that modification measures are the most effective in reducing pollutant emissions, with ACCT technology having better emission reduction effects than SCR technology; At the same time, education and training courses are beneficial for improving drivers' awareness of environmental protection, but their effectiveness still needs further testing. Professor Haibo Chen from the Institute of Transportation at the University of Leeds shares the latest research findings

In the first special lecture, Professor Qiu Zhaowen from Chang'an University and Professor Song Guohua from Beijing Jiaotong University, who served as guest reviewers, respectively commented on Professor Haibo Chen's academic report. Professor Qiu Zhaowen believed that Professor Haibo Chen's research has brought beneficial insights into reducing traffic emissions in reality. Professor Qiu Zhaowen further suggested that more pollution factors can be considered, such as analyzing the environmental pollution of the entire electric vehicle industry chain; Additionally, non-emission pollutants such as noise and road dust can also be included in the analysis framework. Finally, Professor Qiu Zhaowen mentioned that exploring the relationship between vehicle manufacturing technology level and exhaust emissions is also very important.

Professor Qiu Zhaowen's Exciting Comments from Chang'an University

Professor Song Guohua's Exciting Comments from Beijing Jiaotong University

Professor Song Guohua and Professor Haibo Chen focused on the monitoring of pollutant emission data, and he believes that their research has many similarities. Professor Song Guohua demonstrated that he also used similar testing methods to monitor pollution emissions and built a specialized model to simulate using big data. Professor Haibo Chen stated that existing research on pollutant emissions should be promptly communicated to the public so that people are aware of the potential air pollution issues caused by driving and can enhance their environmental awareness.

In the first lecture, Professor Haibo Chen closely focused on the theme of "Reducing Exhaust and Non-exhaust Emissions: The MODALES Approach", relying on the MODALES project to study the three major pollutants generated during car driving from four aspects: monitoring, simulation, modification, and education, and is committed to finding the most effective ways to reduce emissions. These research perspectives are diverse and the methods are rigorous, which have great implications for reducing traffic pollutant emissions in reality and have greatly benefited participants. Two specially invited reviewers, Professor Qiu Zhaowen and Professor Song Guohua, summarized the main content, conclusions, and contributions of the study, and provided further research directions and related ideas that could be improved, thereby expanding the breadth of participants' thinking. Other guests and attendees also had active discussions on the Zoom Q&A platform.

Professor Susan Grant Muller, who is a professor of technology and information at the Transportation Research Institute at the University of Leeds and a researcher at the Alan Turing Institute, gave the second lecture on the interaction between transportation and health. She led a research project on the role of large-scale data analysis and new forms of technical data in formulating sustainable transportation policies. Professor Susan Grant Muller is also a statistician, specializing in the field of intelligent transportation systems. In recent years, this field has also focused on the use of emerging data forms, social media, liquidity analysis, and the role of network technology in the transportation field. Her current interests include understanding the widespread impact of information and communication technology on transportation infrastructure (such as health, energy, and carbon impacts), managing micro user data, and exploring incentive measures for behavior oriented demand management.

Professor Susan Grant Muller's speech is divided into three parts. First, Professor Susan Grant Muller pointed out that transportation is not only the foundation of socio-economic development, but also closely related to individual health and well-being. Transportation and health interact in specific aspects such as environmental pollution, sports activities, safety, disease transmission, mental health, and even happiness, but there are complex contradictions and trade-offs between the two within a broader transportation system. Professor Susan Grant Muller demonstrated different modeling methods and how the emergence of new data provides new opportunities for multi-departmental modeling. Secondly, she introduced a system dynamics model for studying traffic health interactions, which combines qualitative system thinking to capture behavior and understand how complex systems change over time. Professor Susan Grant Muller provided an exquisite causal relationship diagram, demonstrating how traffic and health interact through three different paths: environmental pollution, road safety, and travel activities, while also intuitively showing the correlation between each path; The more complex traffic health composite causal relationship diagram illustrate the important role that new data plays in understanding the relationship between traffic and health. Finally, Professor Susan Grant Muller introduced two research cases that applied new data to study the interaction between transportation and health. One research team used monitoring technology implemented in Newcastle, UK to collect user behavior data and observed that the number of reward points encouraging users to reduce driving did indeed lead to users adopting more modes of transportation such as cycling and walking; Another research team took the COVID-19 pandemic as the background to study the impact of closures and daily case changes on people's travel mode and purpose.

Professor Susan Grant Muller from the Institute of Transportation at the University of Leeds shares the latest research findings

In the second special lecture, Professor Susan Grant Muller closely modeled the dynamic system around the complex interaction between transportation and health, providing a deep explanation of the mechanisms of their interaction, and introduced the practical application of new data based on next-generation information technology in the field of complex transportation, thereby broadening the horizons of transportation research and practice for participants. 

The successful opening ceremony of the 2022 Transportation Series Lectures marked the beginning of eight transportation themed lectures dedicated to Sino foreign exchange and academic dialogue, and also provided an effective channel for further cooperation between Beijing Jiaotong University and the Transportation Research Institute of Leeds University. The first and second successful transportation themed lectures focused on low-carbon emission reduction, transportation health interaction, and big data applications on transportation, providing exciting ideas, rigorous research paradigms, beneficial research results, and profound insights for Chinese and foreign scholars, researchers, and university teachers and students attending the conference.