People | Freight Transportation Data Research Lab

Sarah Hernandez, Ph.D., P.E.

Associate Professor
Department of Civil Engineering
University of Arkansas
Phone: 479-575-4182
Email: sarahvh@uark.edu

Sarah Hernandez is an Associate Professor and holds the Walter E. Hicks and Blossom Russell Hicks Endowed Chair for Infrastructure Engineering at the University of Arkansas. She received her PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering with a specialization in transportation systems engineering from the University of California, Irvine. She holds a M.S. from the University of California, Irvine (Irvine, California) and a B.S. from the University of Florida (Gainesville, Florida). She teaches graduate classes on transportation planning and transportation data analysis. Dr. Hernandez is the faculty advisor for the student chapter of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) and a member of ITE. Her research focuses on new and advanced technology applications in transportation systems engineering and is centered on developing tools and methods to collect and analyze freight and commercial vehicle operations data for long range freight planning. Her project portfolio includes work for the Arkansas Department of Transportation, the US Army Corps of Engineers, the National Science Foundation, Institute for Trade and Transportation Studies, and the Maritime Transportation Research and Education Center. She serves as a member of the Transportation Research Board’s Standing Committee on Freight Transportation Data and Trucking Industry Research as well as a panelist for the National Science Foundation and the National Cooperative Highway Research Program. Brief CV Hernandez July 2022

Research Associates

Subhadipto Poddar, Ph.D.

Background: Subhadipto completed his doctorate from Iowa State University in 2020 and worked for two local government agencies as Traffic Engineer after graduation. He has experience working on projects related to ITS, data analysis, and traffic operations. He has also volunteered for TRB’s Traffic Signals Systems Committee and has been an active reviewer of several publishing houses, including ASCE, IEEE, TRB, Elsevier, and others.
Research: He is assisting with the development of a low-cost Lidar sensor for advanced vehicle detection. His task includes working with other departments to formulate the best possible solution in developing, deploying, and implementing one of the latest sensors in the market.

Graduate Research Assistants

Karla Diaz Corro

Background: Karla is a PhD student in the Freight Transportation Data Research Lab

Research: She is leading the work for the Arkansas State Police Highway Safety Office including the Traffic Safety Campaign Awareness Survey and the Seat Belt survey.

Sanjeev Bhurtyal

Background: Sanjeev completed his Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering in 2017 from Tribhuvan University, Nepal and Master’s Degree in Civil Engineering in 2021 from University of Arkansas. He is currently pursuing his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering, with the area of focus in Transportation Engineering.

Research: He is currently working on developing a policy and infrastructure evaluation model of commodity flows through inland waterway ports sponsored by MarTREC. His task includes formulation of two stage stochastic optimization model and processing of results to generate managerial insights regarding infrastructure in inland waterway ports.

Lizbeth Juarez

Background: Lizbeth is from Crossett in Southeast Arkansas. Lizbeth earned her BS in Civil Engineering from the University of Arkansas and is now pursuing his MS in Civil Engineering. During her UG studies, she interned at the Arkansas Department of Transportation and with the Frontier Metropolitan Planning Organization. She also served as the president for the Civil Engineering honors society, Chi Epsilon.

Research: Lizbeth is serving as the Entrepreneurial Lead (EL) for an NSF I-Corp project. The project examines commercialization potential for innovative traffic sensors. Lizbeth will conduct 100 industry interviews and lead the charge towards a go/no-go business decision as part of the program.

Kwadwo Amankwah-Nkyi

Background: Kwadwo is from the Ashanti Region, Ghana. He earned his BS in Civil Engineering from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology (KNUST), Ghana in 2019. He worked at the Ghana Highway Authority, Kumasi from 2019-2021. He is now pursuing his MS in Civil Engineering.

Research: Kwadwo is currently working on a project sponsored by the National Science Foundation to identify the extent to which vehicle body characteristics derived from traffic sensors can predict commodity carried.

Mehdi Zolali

Background: Mehdi, originally from Tabriz, Iran, is currently serving as a Graduate Assistant in the Civil Engineering Department at the University of Arkansas. He holds an M.S. in Transportation Engineering from the University of Qazvin (IKIU), where his master thesis focused on driving behavior and driving simulator study. The outcome of his research generated models to predict drivers’ behavior during adverse weather conditions.

Research: Under the guidance of Dr. Hernandez, Mehdi is now pursuing a PhD in Transportation Engineering, specifically in the field of Freight Transportation Data. He is part of the Freight Transportation Data research group, which is utilizing big data to identify commodity flow for future planning and infrastructure requirements.

Geoffery Agorku

Background: Geoffery Agorku hails from the Volta Region of Ghana and holds a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. Currently, Geoffery is pursuing a master’s degree in Civil Engineering, specializing in Transportation Engineering, at the University of Arkansas.

Research: With a keen interest in developing innovative solutions for the transportation industry, Geoffery’s research is focused on building a machine learning model to predict the type and quantity of barges transported by vessels on waterways.

Shihao Pang

Background: Shihao Pang is from the Eastern region of China. He is pursuing his Master’s Degree in Transportation Engineering at the University of Arkansas. He received his Bachelor’s degree from Missouri S&T in December 2019. Before returning to school, he was employed with the planning division of ARDOT and the roadway and bridge team at Olsson Fayetteville office.

Research: Shihao’s research is focused on multi-modal planning and user cost estimation. He is currently working on the ARDOT project “TRC 2023 Daily Impact of Bridge Closure over the Mississippi River”.

Pratik Babu Pokharel

Background: Pratik completed his Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering in 2021 from Institute of Engineering, Pulchowk Campus. He is currently pursuing his MS in Civil Engineering, with the area of focus in Transportation Engineering.

Research: Pratik’s current research activities include analysis of responses for the Arkansas Safety Awareness Survey and development of a campus transit route improvement plan.

Undergraduate Research Assistants

Edith Avalos Perez

Background: Edith is from King City, California. She is currently seeking her bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Computer Engineering at the University of Arkansas and plans to graduate May 2023.

Research: Edith is currently working on a project sponsored by the Arkansas State Police to enter paper crash records into an electronic database.

Maria Falquez

Background: Maria is from Guayaquil, Ecuador. She is currently seeking a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and a Bachelor of Arts in German and plans to graduate in May 2024.

Research: Maria is currently working on a project sponsored by the Arkansas State Police, conducting a safety awareness survey.

Emirra Harris

Background: Emirra Harris is originally from Ashdown, Arkansas but came to the University of Arkansas from Jonesboro, Arkansas for her freshman year. She is currently seeking her bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering with a minor in Mathematics. She plans to graduate in 2024.

Research: Emirra is currently working on a project for roadway safety sponsored by the Arkansas State Police which consists of conducting a safety awareness survey.