On March 21, 2025, CvEEN had the honor of welcoming Dr. Yafeng Yin, Professor and Department Chair at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, as part of our Distinguished Seminar Series. His talk, "Seventy Years of Travel Forecasting: Charting the Next Frontier with AI," explored the evolution of travel forecasting and the transformative role of artificial intelligence in shaping future transportation models.

Dr. Yin was introduced by Dr. Cathy Liu, CvEEN Associate Professor, who highlighted her long-standing professional connection with him. Having first met Dr. Yin during her time as a Ph.D. student at the University of Washington, she recalled his insightful contributions to her doctoral research, particularly in the area of congestion pricing. Over the years, she has frequently engaged with him at conferences and benefited from his deep knowledge of transportation systems.

"Dr. Yin has been an incredibly insightful and supportive presence in the field," Liu said.

Dr. Yin’s talk highlighted multi-scale modeling and demonstrated two AI-driven applications transforming transportation analysis:

• End-to-end learning for integrated network equilibrium models
• Large language models for generative agents in activity-based microsimulation

After the seminar, a lively Q&A session evolved into continued discussions well into the evening as CvEEN faculty, staff, and graduate students gathered for an informal social event. The lively exchange of ideas throughout Yin's visit underscored the department’s commitment to fostering strong connections with leading experts and advancing the future of civil and environmental engineering.

Connections like those between Dr. Yin and Dr. Liu exemplify the strong professional networks that bring top-tier knowledge and innovation to the University of Utah. Stay tuned for more inspiring discussions in our Distinguished Seminar Series!