UPD Ph.D. Students
Hyehyeon Bark
Education: Bachelor of Arts in Psychology & Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Engineering, Yonsei University; Master of City Planning, Seoul National University.
Research Interests: migration, race/ethnicity, new media, urban HCI, STS, emotion/affect, environmental aesthetics, comparative planning, planning theory
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Annette Kim
Robert Binder
Ph.D. in Urban Planning and Development
Education: Master in City and Regional Planning, Georgia Institute of Technology; Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, Michigan State University
Research Interests: Public transportation, equity and justice, urban sociology, social interactions in public space, ethnography, community engagement, storytelling in planning, urban design, and public finance
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Genevieve Giuliano
Alycia Cheng
Ph.D. in Urban Planning and Development
Education: Master of Urban Planning, Bachelor of Arts in Sociology, University of California, Los Angeles
Research Interests: Housing, community development, immigrant communities, social networks
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Dowell Myers
Ruoyu Chen
Ph.D. in Urban Planning and Development
[email protected] | LinkedIn | Website
Education: Master of Science in Urban and Regional Planning, Peking University; Bachelor of Engineering in Urban and Rural Planning, Huazhong University of Science and Technology
Research Interests: Sustainable transportation, urban analytics, and urban economics
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Marlon Boarnet
Seongmoon Cho
Ph.D. in Urban Planning and Development
[email protected] | LinkedIn | Website
Education: Master of Planning, USC; Master of Science in City and Regional Planning, Seoul National University; Bachelor of Architecture, Yonsei University
Research Interests: Housing demography, urban economics, urban analytics, data science
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Dowell Myers
2024 Haynes Lindley Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship, 2024 Lusk Center Research Award
Alanna Coombes
Ph.D. in Urban Planning and Development
Education: Master of Science in Public Administration and Public Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, United Kingdom; Master of Science in Urban Design and City Planning, University College London, United Kingdom; Bachelor of Arts in Politics, Hull University
Research Interests: Urban policy and planning, community resilience, autonomous vehicles, ‘smart city’ technology, STS, transport planning, economic development, city and local politics, public affairs – and how all these interact
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Genevieve Giuliano
Sue Dexter
Ph.D. in Urban Planning and Development
Education: Master of Science in Operations Research, London School of Economics and Political Science; Bachelor of Arts in Management Science, University of California, San Diego
Research Interests: Sustainable urban freight, transportation planning and infrastructure, land use policy, environmental policy, climate change mitigation, international development
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Genevieve Giuliano
James Gross
Ph.D. in Urban Planning and Development
Education: Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Sociology, Purdue University Northwest
Research Interests: City form and vitality, urban data science and econometrics, transportation, international development planning
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Marlon Boarnet
Jaehyun Ha
Ph.D. in Urban Planning and Development
Education: Doctor of Philosophy in Urban Planning, Bachelor of Science in Urban Planning, Hanyang University
Research Interests: Transportation planning, travel behavior, urban freight, urban spatial structure, urban informatics
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Genevieve Giuliano
Nassim Hoorijani
Ph.D. in Urban Planning and Development
Education: Bachelor of Science in Architectural Engineering and Master of Science in Urban Design, Azad University of Sanandaj
Research Interests: Healthy cities, sustainable transportation planning, travel behavior, urban mobility, urban economics
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Marlon Boarnet
Jiyoon Kim
Ph.D. in Urban Planning and Development
Education: Master of Urban Planning, USC; Bachelor of Landscape Architecture and Bachelor of Architecture, Seoul National University
Research Interests: Urban design, spatial analysis, green space, urban development, public health
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Annette Kim
Seula (Naomi) Lee
Ph.D. in Urban Planning and Development
Education: Master of City and Regional Planning, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey; Bachelor of Science in Economics and Finance, Hanyang University
Research Interests: Travel behavior, transportation planning, transport policy, urban mobility, urban space, urban economics, new mobilities
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Marlon Boarnet
Jody Liu
Ph.D. in Urban Planning and Development
Education: Master of Science in Urban Regeneration, University College London; Bachelor of Science in Anthropology, University of Michigan
Research Interests: Policing and the carceral system; queer space; spatial justice; planning theory
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Lisa Schweitzer
Sihan Mao
Ph.D. in Urban Planning and Development
Education: Master of Public Policy, University of Chicago; Bachelor of Economics, Peking University
Research Interests: Housing and land use policy, spatial analysis, urban economics, international development
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Richard Green
Saisha Mattoo
Ph.D. in Urban Planning and Development
Education: Master of Urban Design, School of Planning and Architecture in New Delhi; Bachelor of Architecture, Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur
Research Interests: Intersection between design and planning, urban health
Faculty Advisor: Dr. David Sloane
David Flores Moctezuma
Ph.D. in Urban Planning and Development
Education: Master of Science, Geographic Information Science and Technology, Bachelor of Arts in Music, University of Southern California
Research Interests: Urban demography, housing, GIS, urban sociology, transportation, urban development, real estate
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Dowell Myers
Thu Nguyen
Ph.D. in Urban Planning and Development
Education: Master of City and Regional Planning, Clemson University; Bachelor of Arts in Economics; Growth and Structures of Cities, Bryn Mawr College
Research Interests: Urban form, housing, urban economics, spatial informatics, international planning, transportation
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Annette Kim
Aisling O’Reilly
Ph.D. in Urban Planning and Development
Education: Bachelor of Science in Urban Planning, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
Research Interests: Transportation equity, mobility justice, accessibility, travel behavior, disability justice, spatial sciences & GIS, mixed methods
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Genevieve Giuliano
Laura Prada
Ph.D. in Urban Planning and Development
Education: Bachelor of Arts in Economics, Universidad Industrial de Santander; Master of Science in Economics, Universidad del Rosario.
Research Interests: Poverty and inequality issues from a behavioral perspective to inform public policy decisions.
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Emma Aguila
Marley Randazzo
Ph.D. in Urban Planning and Development
Education: Master of Urban Planning, USC; Bachelor of Arts in Growth and Structure of Cities, Haverford College
Research Interests: Technology and the metropolitan spatial structure, urban economic development, human geography, urban demography
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Elizabeth Currid-Halkett
Qifan Shao
Ph.D. Urban Planning and Development
Education: Master of Urban and Regional Planning, Peking University; Bachelor of Human Geography and Urban Planning, Northwest A&F University
Research Interests: Land use and transportation, sustainable transportation, social equity, public transit
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Marlon Boarnet
Elana Simon
Ph.D. Urban Planning and Development
Education: Master of City and Regional Planning and Master of Public Informatics, Rutgers University; Bachelor of Arts in Politics, Whitman College
Research Interests: Science and technology studies (STS), housing and urban inequality, planning theory, spatial data science
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Annette Kim
Yuquan (Wendy) Zhou
Ph.D. Urban Planning and Development
Education: Master of Planning, University of California, Berkeley; Bachelor of Engineering in Urban and Rural Planning, Sun Yat-Sen University
Research Interests: Urban form, urban environment, health cities, big data, spatial analysis
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Geoff Boeing