rCITI student highlights

Ahmad Emami is a dedicated Ph.D. candidate in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UNSW Sydney, where he conducts his research under the supervision of Prof. Meead Saberi. With a strong academic foundation in industrial engineering from Sharif University of Technology in Iran—where he completed both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees—Ahmad brings a unique interdisciplinary perspective to his work.

His research centres on leveraging AI‑assisted mapping to improve how we capture and understand transportation infrastructure, particularly sidewalks. Sidewalk data is often incomplete or inconsistent, yet it plays a crucial role in studies of pedestrian navigation, accessibility, and walkability. Ahmad’s work explores not only how AI can accelerate and enhance the mapping process, but also how human judgment must be woven into these systems to prevent errors, improve reliability, and ultimately create safer, more inclusive pedestrian environments.

Beyond his technical contributions, Ahmad is deeply passionate about the impact of research on everyday life. He sees his work as a way to help shape more connected, accessible, and human-centered cities.

At Research Centre for Integrated Transport Innovation (rCITI) at UNSW, he is part of a vibrant, international community of researchers—an experience he values greatly. He approaches his research with enthusiasm, gratitude, and a desire to make a meaningful difference.

Meet Kadek Sumaja: Advancing Climate Resilience in Air Transport

Kadek Sumaja is a PhD candidate at rCITI whose thesis focuses on understanding and managing climate risks in air transport systems. Originally from Indonesia, Kadek brings a unique multidisciplinary background spanning climate science, meteorology, physics, disaster management, and aviation.

His PhD research, Quantifying Risk and Enhancing Resilience: A Climate Adaptation Framework for Air Transport and Climate Sensitive Destinations, examines how extreme weather and long term climate change affect airport operations, airspace capacity, and flight corridors. By integrating climate projections with operational disruption modelling, his work quantifies delays, cancellations, and changes in flight time under future climate scenarios. The goal is to develop a transferable framework that supports evidence based adaptation planning for aviation systems and air transport dependent destinations.

Kadek holds a Master of Disaster Management from the University of Auckland and has over ten years of professional experience as an aviation meteorologist at Bali International Airport. Witnessing weather related disruptions firsthand motivated his research into translating climate data into operationally meaningful insights for industry and policymakers.

Through his PhD candidature, Kadek aims to strengthen the resilience of air transport systems and support informed decision making in an increasingly climate uncertain future.

For more information about this topic contact:  k.sumaja@unsw.edu.au

Meet Randy Franstiarajah: Researching Cleaner Transport Futures

Randy Franstiarajah is a PhD candidate in Transportation Engineering at the Research Centre for Integrated Transport Innovation (rCITI).  His research focuses on improving the understanding and control of heavy duty vehicle emissions using real world driving data.

Randy studies real world driving data collected from vehicles on the road. He uses this data to understand how factors like speed, acceleration, and sudden driving movements lead to higher pollution, particularly nitrogen oxides (NOx). To do this, he uses data analysis and machine learning tools that help explain which driving patterns produce the most emissions. His goal is not only to predict emissions more accurately, but also to help design eco driving strategies that can reduce pollution in everyday driving.

Originally from Indonesia, Randy holds an Associate Degree from Nanjing Institute of Railway Technology, a Bachelor’s degree from Nanjing Tech University, and a Master’s degree from Southeast University, where he received multiple academic excellence awards and scholarships. He has published several peer reviewed conference papers and received recognition for outstanding research presentations.

Randy aspires to pursue an academic career and contribute to advancing vehicle emissions control and sustainable transport policy, especially in countries where cleaner transport solutions are urgently needed.

For more information about this topic contact: r.franstiarajah@unsw.edu.au

Meet Fatemeh Hirbod: Advancing Efficiency and Sustainability in Maritime Logistics

Fatemeh Hirbod is a PhD candidate specialising in making maritime container terminals work more efficiently. These terminals are busy and complex environments, and even small delays can lead to higher costs and congestion. Fatemeh’s work aims to support better day to day decisions in these systems.

She has  a strong  foundation in industrial engineering, her research focuses on improving the performance of complex logistics and transportation systems through advanced analytical and data driven approaches.

Her research integrates queueing theory, predictive modelling, and optimization techniques to enhance resource allocation, reduce congestion and delays, and minimise operational costs while maintaining service quality. By leveraging forecasting under uncertainty and structured decision making frameworks, Fatemeh’s work provides practical solutions for real world maritime and logistics operations.

Fatemeh holds a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering at Alzahra University in Tehran and a Masters of Industrial Engineering at the University of Tehran.  She has published research on topics such as vaccine distribution and waste management, showing how mathematical models can be applied to real world problems.

Driven by a strong interest in problem solving, Fatemeh hopes her research will contribute to more efficient and sustainable transportation systems in the future.