Research
My primary research interests lie at the intersection of operations research and computer science with a large emphasis on designing transportation systems that are scalable, robust and responsive. In particular, I am interested in using large urban data sets to characterize the real time performance of transportation networks, and developing algorithms and methods that will enable these networks to undergo a systems level improvement in efficiency and reliability.
My research often involves the analysis and visualization of real time data sets, with the goal of creating real time control systems that can make a positive impact on sustainability and societal well-being on both a city-wide and global scale. For example, I worked with Prof Carlo Ratti on the LIVE Singapore Project, a multi-disciplinary initiative aimed at creating a platform for collecting, processing, and distributing real-time data in Singapore.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about my research or would like to collaborate on future projects. I can be reached at afian at alum dot mit dot edu.
My graduate work explored how taxi operations at Changi International Airport in Singapore can be improved by using a novel queuing model to predict taxi supply and demand at each airport terminal.
A Anwar: ChangiNOW, A Mobile Application for Efficient Taxi Operation at Airports (thesis, paper, presentation)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2011 – 2013) S.M. in Civil and Environmental Engineering (Transportation) at the Distributed Robotics Lab (CSAIL)
Cornell University (2001 – 2005) B.A. in Economics
A detailed c.v. is available on request.
Awards
$50K SMART Explorer Grant EG11011: ChangiNOW, A Mobile App that Balances Taxi Supply at Airports (2012)
$250K SMART Innovation Grant ING13057-ICT: TaxiSG, Optimizing Taxi Operations in Singapore (2013)
$500K TECS-POV: AFI: API Layer for Cities (2016)
References
Prof Daniela Rus, Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, MIT
Prof Amedeo Odoni, Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics, MIT
Prof Gerhard Schmitt, Chair of Information Architecture, ETH Zurich