Tae J. Kwon, Ph.D., P.Eng.

Area of Study / Keywords

Transportation Engineering Location Optimization Geospatial Information Science Intelligent Transportation System Deep Learning

About

Dr. Tae J. Kwon joined the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Alberta as an Assistant Professor in August 2016 after earning his award-winning Ph.D. from the University of Waterloo and has since advanced to Associate Professor. Dr. Kwon's research covers a wide range of topics such as intelligent transportation systems, winter road maintenance, facility location optimization, geospatial information sciences and geostatistics, remote sensing, and traffic safety. One of his latest multi-phase research projects involves analyzing various winter transportation-related issues including road surface conditions monitoring and prediction using heuristics and deep learning to enhance safety and mobility for winter travelers while collaborating with numerous transportation agencies across North America.

During his tenure at the UofA, Dr. Kwon has received numerous accolades for his notable achievements and contributions. Among these, in 2019, he was awarded the Great Supervisor Award from the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research (FGSR) for his exemplary supervisory endeavors. The following year, he was distinguished as the sole recipient of the U of A's Faculty of Engineering Early-Career Research Award acknowledging his research excellence and significant influence at both national and international levels. Most recently, in 2024, Dr. Kwon was presented with the prestigious ITS Canada Excellence in Research and Development Award, acknowledging his substantial scholarly contributions to the ITS sector.

Dr. Kwon's research has garnered support from a multitude of organizations encompassing federal, provincial, municipal, and private industry sponsors. These include the NSERC Discovery Grant/Alliance Grant, Aurora Program, Alberta Transportation, Alberta EcoTrust, Iowa DOT, Maine DOT, City of Edmonton, Vanasse Hangen Bruslin Inc., CIMA+, and others. Furthermore, Dr. Kwon has developed several web-based decision support systems such as LoRWIS, which optimizes road weather sensor locations and is now utilized by numerous jurisdictions across Canada and the United States.

Professional Activities

• Administrative Leadership Team (ALT), Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta (02/2024 – present)
• Standing Committee on TRB Surface Transportation Weather Research Group (01/2016 – present)
• Committee Communication Coordinator (CCC) for TRB Surface Transportation Weather Research Group (01/2016 – present)
• Curriculum Review Committee, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta (05/2020 – 06/2022)
• Transportation Research Group Coordinator, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta (01/2018 – 06/2022)
• Faculty Representative of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering (CSCE) Edmonton Section (07/2017 – 06/2022)
• Academic Planning Committee, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta (06/2017 – 05/2018)
• TRB Paper Review Committee, Surface Transportation Weather (AH010) (2017 - 2018)
• Co-lecturer, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON. (05/2015 – 08/2015)
• Lecturer, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON. (05/2014 – 08/2014)
• Co-lecturer, Data for Performance Measurement. Professional Development Workshop, CSCE, Edmonton, AB. (06/2013)

Awards & Scholarships

• 2024 ITS CANADA Excellence in Research and Development Award, Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Canada
• 2024 KOFST Scientist of the Year Award, Korean Federation of Science and Technology Societies (KOFST), Republic of Korea
• 2023 Donald Stanley Award / Best Paper Award, Canadian Society for Civil Engineering
• Faculty of Engineering Nominee for Petro Canada's Emerging Innovator Award, Suncor Engergy Inc.
• 2021 AKCSE Early Achievement Award, Association of Korean Canadian Scientists & Engineers (AKCSE)
• 2020 Early Career Research Award, Faculty of Engineering, University of Alberta
• 2019 Great Supervisor Award, Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research, University of Alberta
• Early Career Researcher Award, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta (3 times)
• UW Doctoral Thesis Award, Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Waterloo
• NSERC-UW Graduate Scholarships, Faculty of Engineering, University of Waterloo (2 times)
• Departmental Graduate Students Award, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Waterloo (6 times)
• International Doctor of Philosophy Student Award, Faculty of Engineering, University of Waterloo
• Graduate Studies Excellence Award - MSc Category, University of Waterloo (3 times)
• Winner of the Institute of Transportation Engineer (ITE) Presentation Competition, Toronto, Ontario

Research

Research Interests

Dr. Kwon's current research areas are as follows:

• Winter transportation engineering (winter road maintenance)
• Intelligent Transportation System (ITS)
• Traffic and transportation system optimization
• Geographic Information System for Transportation (GIS-T)
• Applications of big data for estimation and forecasting of road and traffic conditions
• Road conditions monitoring and estimations using geostatistics and deep learning
• Spatial and temporal analyses of road traffic and safety

Publications

• https://sites.google.com/ualberta.ca/drtaejkwon/publications

Teaching

Undergraduate Courses, U of A

• [Civ E 315] Transportation Engineering I, Winter 20'
• [Civ E 411] Transportation Engineering II, Fall 18', and 21'
• [Civ E 419] Transportation Engineering: Planning and Design, Winter 17', 18', and 24’

Graduate Courses, U of A

• [Civ E 612] Transportation Planning: Methods and Techniques, Fall 16', 17', 18', 19', 20', 21', 22', and 24'
• [Civ E 719] Geospatial Information Science for Transportation, Winter 18', 19', 20', 21', and 22'

CIV E 419 - Transportation Engineering: Highway Planning and Design

Planning and design of highway transportation systems, including development, planning process, data collection, procedures for future developments, evaluation of transportation plans, and design of highway transportation facilities. Students work in teams on a design project. Prerequisite: CIV E 411. Note: Restricted to fourth-year traditional and fifth-year co-op engineering students.

CIV E 612 - Transportation Planning: Methodology and Techniques

Introduction and overview of transportation planning. Institutional framework of transportation planning. Characteristics of urban travel, trip generation, trip distribution, mode choice, trip assignment, urban activity system. Transportation supply, transportation system impact analysis, evaluation process and methods. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.

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