Samer Hamdar

Professor

Department: Civil and Environmental Engineering

Contact:

Email: Samer Hamdar

Office Phone: (202) 994-6652

transportation.seas.gwu.edu

SEH 3810 | Office Hours: T, W, F: 10:00 am - 12:00 pm; Virtual: By appointment

Under the supervision of Professor Samer Hamdar, the Center for Intelligent Systems Research conducts research activities in mainly three areas. The first area is related to vehicular and pedestrian traffic dynamics where multiple data sources (driving simulator, instrumented vehicle, detectors and data libraries) are utilized to calibrate and validate newly developed and existing models in different weather and infrastructure-related conditions. The second area focuses on disaster management and evacuation analysis. The research team is studying how social networks may be translated into transportation demand loading patterns in response to different information propagation strategies. The third area aims to build more sustainable multi-modal networks with special attention to non-motorized transportation modes. The corresponding research activities are partially funded by the Civil Infrastructure Systems Program at the National Science Foundation.

Education

B.E., American University of Beirut, Lebanon, 2003
M.S., University of Maryland College Park, 2004
Ph.D., Northwestern University, 2009

Publications

Hamdar, S. H. and Schorr, J. P. “Interrupted Versus Uninterrupted Flow: A Safety Propensity Index for Driver Behavior”. Accident Analysis & Prevention, Volume 55, pp. 22-33, 2013.
Talebpour, A., Mahmassani, H. S. and Hamdar, S. H. “Speed Harmonization: Effectiveness Evaluation under Congested Conditions”. Transportation Research Records, 13-4247, pp. 19, 2013
Hamdar, S. H., Driver Behavior Modeling, Handbook of Intelligent Vehicles, ISBN : 978-0-85729-086-1, Eskandarian, A., Springer, 2012
Talebpour, A., Mahmassani, H. S. and Hamdar, S. H. “Safety First: Assessing Congestion Effects on Experienced Driver Risk Using a Microsimulation Approach ”. Transportation Research Record, No. 12-2988, pp. 16, 2012.
Talebpour, A, Mahmassani, H. S. and Hamdar, S. H. “A Multi-Regime Sequential Risk-Taking Model of Car-Following Behavior: Specification, Calibration and Sensitivity Analysis”. Transportation Research Record, No. 11-4296, p. 13, 2011.
Hamdar, S. H. and Mahmassani H. S. “Life in the Fast Lane: A Duration-Based Investigation of Driver Behavior Differences across Freeway Lanes”. Transportation Research Record, No. 2124, p. 89-102, 2009.
Hamdar, S. H., Treiber, M., Mahmassani, H. S., and Kesting A. “Modeling Driver Behavior as a Sequential Risk Taking Task”. Transportation Research Record, No. 2088, p. 208-217, 2008.
Hamdar, S. H. and Mahmassani, H. S. “From Existing Accident-Free Car-Following Models to Colliding Vehicles: Exploration and Assessment”. Transportation Research Record, No. 2088, p. 45-56, 2008.
Hamdar, S. H., Mahmassani, H. S and Chen, R. B. “Aggressiveness Propensity Index for Driving Behavior at Signalized Intersections”. Accident Analysis & Prevention, Volume 40, Issue 1, p. 315-326, 2008.
Johansson A., Chan, S. H. Y., Hamdar, S. H., Al-Bosta, S., Haase, K. and Helbing, D. “Towards Automatic Analysis and Forecasting of Pilgrim Flows by Video Processing and Simulation”, Journal of the Central Directorate for Development of Projects -Holy Areas, Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 2007 (Journal in Arabic).

Recent Publications

Qin, L. and Hamdar, S. H. "Weather and Road Geometry Impact on Acceleration Behavior: Experimental Set-Up and Data Collection Using a Driving Simulator". Traffic and Granular Flow '13, ISBN: 978-3-319-10628-1, Eds. Chraibi M, Boltes, M., Schadschneider, A. and A. Seyfried, Springer, p. 513-524, 2015.
Silverstein, C., Schorr, J. P. and Hamdar, S. H. “Work Zones VS. Non-Work Zones: Risk Factors Leading to Rear-End and Sideswipe Collisions”. Journal of Transportation Safety and Security, In Press, 2015.
Hamdar, S. H., Mahmassani, H. S. and Treiber M. “From Behavioral Psychology to Acceleration Modeling: Calibration, Validation, and Exploration of Drivers’ Cognitive and Safety Parameters in a Risk-Taking Environment”. Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Volume 78, pp. 32-53, 2015.
Talebpour, A., Mahmassani, H. S. and Hamdar, S. H. “Modeling Lane-Changing Behavior in a Connected Environment: A Game Theory Approach”. Transportation Research Procedia, Volume 7, pp. 420-440 (Special Issue on 21s International Symposium on Transportation and Traffic Theory - ISTTT, Kove, Japan, 5-7 August, 2015 - Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies), 2015.
Schorr J., P. and Hamdar, S. H. “Safety Propensity Index for Signalized and Unsignalized Intersections: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach”. Accident Analysis and Prevention, Volume 71, p. 93-105, 2014.
Hamdar, S. H., Talebpour, A. and Dong, J. “Travel Time Reliability versus Safety: A Stochastic Hazard-Based Modeling Approach”. IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems, Volume 16, Issue 1, p. 264-273, 2014.
Talebpour, A., Mahmassani, S. H., Mete, F. and Hamdar, S. H. “Near-Crash Identification in a Connected Vehicle Environment”. Transportation Research Record, No. 14-2424, p. 20-28, 2014.
Hamdar, S. H. and Schorr, J. P. “Interrupted Versus Uninterrupted Flow: A Safety Propensity Index for Driver Behavior”. Accident Analysis & Prevention, Volume 55, p. 22-33, 2013.
Talebpour, A., Mahmassani, H. S. and Hamdar, S. H. “Speed Harmonization: Effectiveness Evaluation under Congested Conditions”. Transportation Research Records, No. 13-4247, pp. 19, 2013

Distinctions

Invited Member in the Traffic Flow Theory and Characteristics Committee (AHB45) (2010 - 2013); Affiliated Member and Friend of Simulation Modeling Subcommittee and the Emergency Evacuation Subcommittee at the Transportation Research Board (TRB) (2007-2013)
Faculty Affiliate with the Center of Intelligent Systems Research (CISR) and the National Crash Analysis Center (NCAC) at the George Washington University (2009 - 2013)
Member/Friend of the Next Generation Simulation (NGSIM) Research Community (2009 - 2011)
Member of the Phi Kappa Phi, Tao Beta Pi and Chi Epsilon Honor Societies.
Secretary of the Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Student Chapter (September 2003 - August 2007) and the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Student Chapter (September 2006 - August 2007) at the University of Maryland, College Park.