Qian Awarded Posner, Molloy, and Pietrandrea Career Development Chair in Civil Engineering
A car breaks down. An accident halts traffic. A few streets away, a road closes for construction. In many cities, congested roadways are simply inescapable.With his research, CEE Assistant Professor Zhen (Sean) Qian is working toward a different world, one where real-time and historical data allow us to better manage our aging and overcrowded infrastructure. Through data modeling and frameworks, Qian is not only finding ways to reduce congestion, energy use and emissions within existing systems but also to design sustainable, resilient, and intelligent infrastructure for the future.
As director of Carnegie Mellon’s Mobility Data Analytics Center (MAC), Qian integrates massive amounts of data from various agencies and
“I am extremely honored to receive this endowed professorship at the early stage of my career,”
This prestigious award was made possible by the generosity of Robert and Christine Pietrandrea, who chose to honor their long-time friends Henry Posner III and Anne Molloy in the naming of the chair. Robert Pietrandrea and Posner have together run the Railroad Development Corporation (RDC) since 1987, and Anne Molloy, Posner’s wife, is a Carnegie Mellon trustee. The Posner family has previously supported the construction of Carnegie Mellon’s Posner Center and provided significant contributions to the Presidential Scholarship program.
“With his focus in transportation research and education, coupled with his hard work and creativity, Sean Qian is an ideal first recipient of this first early-career development chair for the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering,” said Dave Dzombak, Hamerschlag University Professor and CEE Department Head. He added, “We are very grateful for the generous gift that made this career development chair possible. It strengthens permanently our department and the work that we do on infrastructure and the environment.”