Interviews with the Winners of the Student Paper Award!
As the International Symposium on the Future of Traffic Management approaches, three standout student voices are set to take the stage in Athens. Transportation students from around the world were invited to submit scientific papers for a chance to present their work at this global gathering — and now, the top three finalists have been announced.
Congratulations to Mr. Cesar Andriola, Ms. Yangjiao Chen, and Mr. Michael Andre Urbiztondo, whose innovative research earned them a place at the Symposium. In exclusive interviews conducted by Dr. Joanna Tzanidaki, these rising talents share their visions, motivations, and the ideas driving their work.
Read the Interviews:
Read the interviews and get inspired by the next generation of traffic management innovators.
Grand Sponsor for Student Awards
Mr Barradas, Chief Strategy Officer and Partner at ARMIS ITS, is an ITS specialist with a deep interest in the digitalisation and decarbonisation of transport and mobility. He uses his expertise to combine traffic engineering and IT to develop advanced solutions for mobility management in complex transport systems. He is currently leading the development of DRIVE 3.0, a next generation product that integrates decision support system tools based on simulation, forecast and machine learning techniques to improve traffic management and mobility services and he is always keen to support new talent in traffic management. A Board Member of ITS Portugal, he actively promotes innovative ITS solutions.
Interview with Pedro Barradas from ARMIS ITS - Grand Sponsor for Student Awards
Who is ARMIS ITS and why are you sponsoring the Student Paper Awards?
ARMIS ITS develops advanced traffic and mobility management systems and has actively contributed to ERTICO TM 2.0 Platform. We work to overcome the barriers between public authorities and private service providers by enabling coordinated, multimodal traffic management. By supporting the Student Paper Awards, we encourage research that advances the transition from siloed, individual routing toward integrated, sustainable and orchestrated mobility solutions.
Who are your customers and why Traffic?
ARMIS supports road operators managing high-performance networks, public transport operators, smart cities, and even maritime crossings. The common thread is our 24/7, real-time support to traffic control centers, ensuring safe, efficient, and coordinated operations. We focus on traffic because mobility is the backbone of modern urban life—and it demands intelligent, responsive management.
“We have the technology, we do not need more research” True?
Not true. We have powerful technology, but cities are evolving—and so are mobility challenges. Continuous research ensures we adapt, innovate, and deliver real-world solutions that meet the needs of tomorrow.
Student Paper Award winner, Yangjiao Chen is currently a final-year PhD student at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Her research focuses on the evolving cybersecurity and human-machine interaction challenges in transportation systems under the emerging technologies of connectivity and automation. She holds master’s degrees in Computational Science and Engineering from Georgia Tech and in Transportation and Infrastructure Systems Engineering from Purdue University. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Intelligent Transportation Engineering from Beijing Jiaotong University.
Interview with Student Paper Award winner: Yangjiao Chen, Georgia Institute of Technology
- Tell us about yourself: why traffic and what are your plans after your studies.
I am passionate about making transportation safer and smarter through data and technology. Traffic systems shape our daily lives and improving them has a real-world impact. After my PhD, I plan to pursue R&D roles in intelligent transportation.
- What is the winning Student Paper about? How and where can your research be deployed?
The paper explores how malicious actors and altruistic connected and autonomous vehicles compete in mixed traffic with human drivers. It reveals the limits of learning-based control in complex traffic environments and highlights the importance for detecting adaptive and intelligent attacks. The findings can guide policy and system design for safer and more resilient automated mobility.
- What is the win in this Paper Awards for you?
This award is a tremendous honor that validates my research direction and interdisciplinary focus. It motivates me to continue exploring this challenging, underexplored area and to contribute to the future of resilient and secure mobility systems. I’m truly grateful for the recognition.
Ms Chen’s paper on “Deep Reinforcement Learning -based Stealthy Cyberattack Modelling in Mixed -Flow Traffic” will be awarded at the Symposium Plenary 4 on Wednesday 2 July.
Student Paper Award winner, Cesar Andriola received a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul in 2018 and a Master of Science degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering from the same university. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His research focuses on the Human Factors impact of new transportation technologies, with work on driving simulation, hyperloop, and remote operation of trucks.
Interview with Student Paper Award winner: Cesar Andriola, University of Wisconsin -Madison
- Tell us about yourself: why traffic and what are your plans after your studies.
My interest in traffic engineering began with my parents’ regular trips to the farmers’ market in a neighboring city. Frequent blockages on the winding mountain highway often disrupted their work and affected many others, making me realize how vital resilient transportation is for social mobility and equity. These early experiences, along with my academic journey, shaped my goal of working on real-world transportation challenges and mentoring future professionals in the academic sector.
- What is the winning Student Paper about? How and where can your research be deployed?
The paper outlines a roadmap for how Traffic Management Systems can support the development of Automated Vehicles through short-, medium-, and long-term actions, considering different approaches to performing the driving task: vehicle-centric, highway-centric, and teleoperation-centric. This research can be used by transportation agencies and planning organizations to proactively guide AV integration, anticipating the safety and operational benefits of automation.
- What is the win in this Paper Awards for you?
This award validates the relevance of my research and its potential impact on real-world traffic management systems. Most significantly, it enables me to travel to Greece and connect with professionals who can help me apply and expand this and related work.
Mr Andriola’s paper on “The Role of Traffic Management in the Automated Vehicle Puzzle: A Roadmap of vehicle, Highway and Teleoperation -centric Support” will be awarded at the Symposium Plenary 4 on Wednesday 2 July.
Student Paper Award winner, Michael Andre Urbiztondo is currently a Master’s student and Graduate Research Assistant in Transportation Engineering at the GeoTrans group at the University of Alberta in Canada. His work focuses on applications of machine learning, geospatial data, and remote sensing to optimize winter road maintenance for smarter cities.
Interview with Student Paper Award winner: Michael Urbiztondo, University of Alberta
- Tell us about yourself: why traffic and what are your plans after your studies.
I was drawn to traffic and transportation engineering because of how data oriented it is relative to other civil disciplines, and because it directly affects people’s safety and mobility. I personally enjoy applying my data and engineering skills to solve and optimize operational challenges, so this was a perfect fit. After my studies, I plan to continue developing intelligent systems that enhance both safety and efficiency in transportation networks.
- What is the winning Student Paper about? How and where can your research be deployed?
My paper introduces a real-time system that combines machine learning and spatial interpolation to monitor winter road surface conditions. It analyzes imagery captured from roadside sensors and vehicles to detect hazards on the road. The system enables transportation agencies to make faster, data-informed maintenance decisions during hazardous weather events, and can be deployed in any winter-prone city with camera infrastructure.
- What is the win in this Paper Awards for you?
To me, this award is a strong endorsement of applied research that bridges contemporary research topics from AI, civil engineering, and public service. It demonstrates that practical, deployable tools can emerge from academic work and can have positive impacts on the safety of travellers. Personally, it’s a milestone that will motivate me to continue to build smart systems that directly support the safety and mobility of the public. I find it wonderful to not only receive this award, but to be given the opportunity to present on a topic I’m deeply passionate about.
Mr Urbiztondo’s paper on “Advancing Winter Road Maintenance: An AI -Driven Web Platform for Real -Time Road condition Monitoring and Spatial Analysis” will be awarded at the Symposium Plenary 4 on Wednesday 2 July.
The Student Papers submitted for the Student Paper Awards competition to the Symposium Student Paper Awards Committee, were evaluated on their compatibility with Symposium themes; their quality of text and research; their applicability and usefulness to industry as well as their technical analysis.