Bio

​Ph.D., Civil Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, 2015M.E. Civil Engineering, University of Texas at Arlington, 2008​​B.S. Civil Engineering, Texas A&M University, 2005

"I research sustainable and resilient transportation systems, as I believe access to reliable transport is a key determinant of quality of life."

T. Donna Chen, Assistant Professor

Dr. Chen joined the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Virginia in August 2015. Her research focuses on sustainable transportation systems (in particular modeling the impacts of new vehicle technologies systems on traveler behavior and the environment), travel demand modeling, transportation economics, and crash safety. Prior to joining academia, Dr. Chen worked in the consulting industry as a transportation planning engineer and has experience with roadway design, cost estimation, and traffic operation analyses.

Dr. Chen is involved in the Transportation Research Board (TRB), the American Society of Civil Engineers Transportation & Development Institute (ASCE TD&I), Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America), Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), and Women’s Transportation Seminar (WTS).

Awards

  • American Society of Civil Engineers Excellence in Civil Engineering Education (ExCEEd) Fellow 2017
  • National Science Foundation IGERT Fellow 2013-2015
  • Federal Highway Administration Eisenhower Transportation Fellow 2012-2013

Research Interests

  • Sustainable Transportation Systems
  • Transportation Economics
  • Transportation Demand Modeling
  • Safety

Selected Publications

  • “The Effect of Crash Characteristics on Cyclist Injuries: An Analysis of Virginia Automobile-Bicycle Crash Data.” Accident Analysis & Prevention 104: 165-173, 2017. ABS Robartes, Erin and T. Donna Chen
  • “Operations of a Shared, Autonomous, Electric Vehicle Fleet: Implications of Vehicle & Charging Infrastructure Decisions.” Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice 94: 243-254, 2016. ABS Chen, T. Donna, Kara M. Kockelman, and Josiah P. Hanna.
  • “Management of a Shared Autonomous Electric Vehicle Fleet: Implications of Pricing Schemes.” Transportation Research Record 2572: 37-46, 2016. ABS Chen, T. Donna and Kara M. Kockelman.
  • “Carsharing’s Life-Cycle Impacts on Energy Use and Greenhouse Gas Emissions.” Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment 47: 276-284, 2016. ABS Chen, T. Donna and Kara M. Kockelman.
  • “Where are the Electric Vehicles? A Spatial Model for Vehicle-Choice Count Data.” Journal of Transport Geography 43: 181-188, 2015. ABS Chen, T. Donna, Yiyi Wang, and Kara M. Kockelman.
  • “Locating Electric Vehicle Charging Stations: A Parking-Based Assignment Method for Seattle.” Transportation Research Record 2385: 28-36, 2013. ABS Chen, T. Donna, Kara M. Kockelman, and Moby Khan.
  • “The Roles of Vehicle Footprint, Height, and Weight in Crash Outcomes: Application of a Heteroscedastic Ordered Probit Model.” Transportation Research Record 2280: 89-99, 2012. ABS Chen, T. Donna and Kara M. Kockelman.
Google Scholar
ResearchGate

Courses Taught

  • CE3400: Transportation Infrastructure Design
  • CE6470: Transportation Economics & Finance

Featured Grants & Projects

  • "Would You Consider a 'Green' Vehicle? Anticipating Electric Vehicle Adoption Patterns and Emissions Impacts in Virginia with a Spatial Latent Choice Model,"

    Mid-Atlantic Transportation Sustainability Transportation Center.

  • "Connected Vehicles in Planning Processes,"

    Virginia Department of Transportation.

  • "I-66 Inside the Beltway Dynamic Tolling Framework Development, Analytical Testing & Support,"

    Virginia Department of Transportation.