2. Michael Cassidy

Michael Cassidy

Slug
cassidy
Type
Faculty
Photo
Cassidy headshot
Headshot
Cassidy headshot
First Name
Michael
Last Name
Cassidy
Email
cassidy@ce.berkeley.edu
Office
416C McLaughlin Hall
Office Phone
(510) 642-7702
Office Fax
(510) 643-8919
Programs
Transportation Engineering
Titles
Vice Chair for Undergraduate Studies
Chancellor's Professor
Robert Horonjeff Professor
Biography

Michael Cassidy is a Vice Chair for Undergraduate Studies and a Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UC Berkeley. Cassidy’s research focuses on traffic and transportation operations, traffic control, and public transit. In 30 years of academic activity at Purdue University and UC Berkeley, Cassidy has published roughly 75 papers in refereed journals and has supervised more than 25 Ph.D. dissertations. 

Education

Ph.D., Civil Engineering (Transportation Engineering), University of California at Berkeley, 1990

M.S., Civil Engineering (Transportation Engineering), University of California at Berkeley, 1986

B.S., Civil Engineering, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, 1984

Research Interests
Traffic and transportation operations, Discrete choice analysis, Travel behavior, Transportation planning
Research

Virtually all cities of the world are plagued by cross-modal conflicts on roadways. Cassidy’s research focuses on how to make cities more sustainable by segregating distinct travel modes on roadways into their own reserved lanes and reorganizing traffic flows. His past research projects have explored organizing strategies that both diminish workload on a network by diminishing vehicle miles traveled (VMT); and enhance network productivity by reducing vehicle hours traveled (VHT) as a traffic reorganization strategy. 

As part of the study, prohibitions were imposed only on those intersections that reside inside select zones within the larger city and only at select times of the day. This study developed agent-based simulations of traffic flow in an urban network resembling downtown Los Angeles to explore synergies when congestion pricing and left-turn prohibitions are jointly deployed. Traffic was simulated for different scenarios representing a morning commute, each with a fixed number of travelers and a given traffic management strategy. In each simulation, travelers choose when to depart their homes in order to minimize the combination of not being punctual at work and in-vehicle delays due to congestion. 

CV File
Cassidy_CV as of Jan 2022.doc145.5 KB
CV Text

Academic Experience

  • Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, April, 2003 to present.
  • Associate Professor Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, June, 1997 to April 2003.
  • Visiting Professor on Sabbatical, Department of Civil Engineering, Universidad Autonoma, Madrid, Spain, January-June 2002.
  • Visiting Professor on Sabbatical, Department of Civil Engineering, Universidad Autonoma, Barcelona, Spain, January-June 1999.
  • Assistant Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, January, 1994 to June, 1997.
  • Assistant Professor, School of Civil Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, August, 1990 to December, 1993.
Awards

Robert Horonjeff Endowed Chair in Civil Engineering (Starting July 1, 2014)

Chancellor's Professorship (July 1, 2014 -- December 9, 2014)

Director and PI, University Transportation Center for Federal Region 9: University of California Center on Economic Competitiveness in Transportation (UCCONNECT)

Associate Editor, Transportation Research Part B

2014 Cunard Award for best paper from the Operations Section of the Transportation Research Board for paper titled "Inhomogeneous Flow Patterns in Under-Saturated Road Networks and Implications for Macroscopic Fundamental Diagram" by Doig, Gayah and Cassidy.

Certificate of Excellence in Reviewing (2013) Transportation Research Part B

Teaching

Undergraduate

  • Introduction to Computer Programming (formerly Engineering & Science Problem-Solving with Computers), E77N
  • Introduction to Transportation Engineering, CE 150
  • Design and Construction of Transportation Facilities, CE 153
  • Transportation Systems Engineering, CE 155

Graduate

  • Traffic Operations and Control, CE 255 (with laboratory, CE 255L)
  • Transportation Operations, CE 251
  • Urban Mass Transportation, CE 259

UC Extension

  • Traffic Flow Fundamentals for Practitioners 2006-2010
  • Highway Capacity Analysis 1999-2002
Students

Current Ph.D. Students

  • Ibrahim Itani (PhD candidate, degree expected May 2022)
  • Sili Kong (PhD candidate, degree expected May 2022)
  • Lin Yang (PhD candidate, degree expected May 2022)
  • Jiaxi Lu (PhD student)
  • Matthew Reiter (PhD student)
  • Servet Lapardhaja (PhD student)
  • Wesley Darling (PhD Student)

Former Ph.D. Students (UC Berkeley)

  • Jean Doig (2021) UC Berkeley
  • Bassel Sadek (2021) Consultant
  • Tawi Songveraphunsiri (co-supervised, 2021)
  • Sudatta Mohanty (PhD 2019) Google
  • Nathalie Saade (PhD 2018) Facebook
  • Wei Ni (PhD 2018) Apple
  • Haoyu Chen (co-supervised, PhD 2016)
  • Karthiik Sivakumaran (co-supervised, PhD 2013)  
  • Ilgin Guler (PhD 2012) Asst. Prof., Penn State University 
  • Weihua Gu (PhD 2012) Assc. Prof., Hong Kong Politechnic Univ.
  • Kwangho Kim (PhD 2011) Researcher, Korea Res. Instit. For Human Settlement
  • Yiguang Xuan (co-supervised, PhD, 2011) Consultant
  • Kitae Jang (PhD 2011) Asst. Prof., Korea Institute of Science and Technology
  • Anthony Patire (PhD 2010) Post-Doctoral Researcher, UC Berkeley
  • Joonho Lee (PhD 2008) Consultant, California
  • Jittichai Rudjananakanoknad (PhD 2005) Asst. Prof., Chulalongkorn Univ, Bangkok, Thailand
  • Soyoung Ahn (PhD 2005) Assoc. Prof., Univ. of Wisconsin
  • K. Chung (PhD 2004) California Dept of Transportation and UC Berkeley (lecturer)
  • M. Mauch (PhD 2002) Consultant, DKS Assocs and UC Berkeley (lecturer)
  • R.L. Bertini (PhD 1999) Assoc. Prof., Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo
  • B. Coifman (PhD 1999) Assoc. Prof., Ohio State Univ.
  • J.R. Windover (PhD 1998) Project Manager, Baine and Assocs, San Francisco, CA.
Publications

Recent Journal Papers

  • Sangveraphunsiri, T., Cassidy, M.J., and Daganzo, C.F. (2022) Jitney-lite: a flexible-route feeder service for developing countries. Transportation Research Part B, 156, 1-13.
  • Itani, I., Cassidy, M.J., and Daganzo, C.F. (2021) Synergies of combining demand- and supply-side measures to manage congested streets. Transportation Research Part A, 151, 172 – 179.
  • Lapardhaja, S., Jalota, D., Doig, J., Almubarak, A. and Cassidy, M.J. (2021) Testing alternative treatments for underused carpool lanes on narrow freeways. Transportation Research Part A, 149, 139 – 149.
  • Mei, Y., Gu, W., Cassidy, M.J. and Fan, W. (2021) Planning skip-stop transit service under heterogeneous demands. Transportation Research Part B, 150, 503-523.
  • Yang, F., Gu, W., Cassidy, M.J., Li, X. and Li, T. (2020) Achieving higher taxi outflows from a drop-off lane: a simulation-based study. Transportation Research Part C, 115, 102623.
  • Mohanty, S., Pozdnukhov, A. and Cassidy, M.J. (2020) Region-wide congestion prediction and control using Deep Learning. Transportation Research Part C, 116, 102624.
  • Wu, L., Gu, W., Fan, W. and Cassidy, M.J. (2020) Optimal design of transit networks fed by shared bikes. Transportation Research Part B, 131, 63-83.
  • Ni, W. and Cassidy, M.J. (2020) City-wide traffic control: modeling impacts of cordon queues. Transportation Research Part C, 113, 164-175.
  • Ni., W. and Cassidy, M.J. (2019) Cordon control with spatially-varying metering rates: a Reinforced Learning approach. Transportation Research Part C, 98, 358-369.
  • Saade, N., Doig, J. and Cassidy, M.J. (2018) Scheduling lane conversions for bus use on city-wide scales and in time-varying traffic. Transportation Research Part C, 95, 248-260. 
  • Gu, W., Amini, Z. and Cassidy, M.J. (2016) Exploring alternative service schemes for busy transit corridors. Transportation Research Part B, 93, 126-145.
  • Kozey, P., Xuan, Y. and Cassidy, M.J. (2016) A low-cost alternative for higher capacities at four-way signalized intersections. Transportation Research Part C, 72, 157-167.
  • Cassidy, M.J., Kim, K.H., Ni. W. and Gu, W. (2015) A problem of limited-access special lanes; Part I: Spatiotemporal studies of real freeway traffic; Part II: Exploring remedies via simulation.  Transportation Research Part A, 80, 307-329..
  • Chen, H., Gu, W., Cassidy, M.J. and Daganzo, C.F. (2015) Optimal transit service atop ring-radial and grid street networks: a continuum approximation design method and comparisons. Transportation Research Part B, 81, 755-774; presented at the 21st ISTTT.
  • Gu, W., Cassidy, M.J. and Li, Y. (2015) Models of bus queueing at curbside stops. Transportation Science, 49, 204-212.
  • Gu, W., Gayah, V., Cassidy, M.J. and Saade, N. (2014) On the impacts of bus stops near signalized intersections: models of car and bus delays. Transportation Research Part B, 68, 123-140.
  • Ouyang, Y., Nourbakhsh, S.M. and Cassidy, M.J.(2014) Continuum approximation approach to bus network design under spatially heterogeneous demand. Transportation Research Part B, 68, 333-344.​
  • Sivakumaran, K., Li, Y., Cassidy, M.J and Madanat, S.M., (2014) Access and the choice of transit technology. Transportation Research Part A 59, 204-221.
  • Gu, W. and Cassidy, M.J. (2013) Maximizing bus discharge flow from multi-berth stops by regulating exit maneuvers. Transportation Research Part B 56, 254-264.
  • Li, Z., Chung, K. and Cassidy, M.J. (2013) Collisions in freeway traffic: the influence of downstream queues and interim means to address it. Transportation Research Record 2396, 1-9.
  • Doig, J.C. Gayah, V. and Cassidy, M.J. (2013) Inhomogeneous flow patterns in undersaturated road networks and implications for Macroscopic Fundamental Diagram. Transportation Research Record 2390, 68-75.
  • Gu, W., Cassidy, M.J., Gayah, V. and Ouyang, Y. (2013) Strategies for mitigating impacts of near-side bus stops on cars, Transportation Research Part B, 47, 42-56..
  • Gu, W., Cassidy, M.J. and Li, Y. (2012) On the capacity of highway checkpoints: models for unconventional configurations, Transportation Research Part B, 46, 1308-1321.
  • Guler, S.I. and Cassidy, M.J. (2012) Strategies for sharing bottleneck capacity among buses and cars, Transportation Research Part B, 46, 1334-1345.
  • Xuan, Y., Gayah, V., Cassidy, M.J. and Daganzo, C.F. (2012) Presignal used to increase bus- and car-carrying capacity at intersections: theory and experiment, Transportation Research Record 2315, 191-196.
  • Kim, K. and Cassidy, M.J. (2012) A capacity-increasing mechanism in freeway traffic, Transportation Research Part B, 46, 1260-1272.
  • Jang, K. and Cassidy, M.J. (2012) Dual influences on vehicle speed in special-use and critique of US regulation, Transportation Research Part A, 46, 1108-1123.
  • Sivakumaran, K, Li, Y, Cassidy, M.J. and Madanat, S.M. (2012) Cost-saving properties of schedule coordination in a simple trunk-and-feeder transit system, Transportation Research Part A, 46, 131-139.
  • Cassidy, M.J., Jang, K. and Daganzo, C.F. (2011) Macroscopic Fundamental Diagrams for freeway networks: Theory and observation, Transportation Research Record 2260, 8-15.
  • Xuan Y., Daganzo, C.F. and Cassidy, M.J. (2011) Increasing the capacity of signalized intersections with separate left turn phase, Transportation Research Part B, 45, 769-781.
  • Gu, W., Li, Y., Cassidy, M.J. and Griswold, J.B. (2011) On the capacity of isolated curbside bus stops, Transportation Research Part B, 45, 714-723.
  • Patire, A. and Cassidy, M.J. (2011) Lane changing patterns of bane and benefit: Observations of an uphill expressway, Transportation Research Part B, 45, 656-666.
  • Ahn, S., Laval, J. and Cassidy, M.J. (2010) Merging and diverging effect on freeway traffic oscillations: theory and observation, Transportation Research Record 2188, 1-8.
  • Gonzales, E.J., Geroliminis, N., Cassidy, M.J. and Daganzo C.F. (2010) On the allocation of space to multiple transport modes. Transportation Planning and Technology, 33(8), 643-656.
  • Cassidy, M.J., Jang, K. and Daganzo, C.F. (2010) The smoothing effect of carpool lanes on freeway bottlenecks, Transportation Research Part A, 44, 65-75
  • Cassidy, M.J., Daganzo, C.F., Jang, K. and Chung, K. (2009) Spatiotemporal effects of segregating different vehicle classes on separate lanes. International Symposium on Transportation and Traffic Theory (W. Lam, S.C. Wong and H.K. Lo, Eds.) Springer, pp 57-74.
  • Daganzo, C.F. and Cassidy, M.J. (2008) Effects of high occupancy vehicle lanes on freeway congestion, Transportation Research Part B, 42, 861-872
  • Ahn, S and Cassidy, M.J. (2007) Freeway traffic oscillations and vehicle lane-changing maneuvers. International Symposium on Transportation and Traffic Theory (R. Alsop, M. Bell and B. Heydecker, Eds.) Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 691-710.
  • Chung, K, Rudjanakanoknad, J. and Cassidy, M.J. (2007) Relations between traffic density and capacity drop at three freeway bottlenecks, Transportation Research Part B, 41, 82-95.

Recent Conference Papers

  • Cassidy, M.J. (2019) City-wide traffic control: modeling impacts of cordon queues. 23rd International Symposium on Transportation and Traffic Theory, Lausanne, Switzerland.

     

Recent Presentations Made at Conferences and Symposia

  • Cassidy, M. J. (2019) Managing bus-car conflicts with special lanes. 5th World Metropolitan Transport Development Forum, Beijing, China.
  • Cassidy, M.J. (2018) Combatting neighborhood traffic congestion via analytical and data-driven means. 4th New York University Abu Dhabi Transportation Symposium.

 

Books

  • Cassidy, M.J., C.F. Daganzo, K. Jang and K. Chung (2009) "Spatiotemporal Effects of Segregating Different Vehicle Classes on Separate Lanes," in (W. Lam, S.C. Wong, and H.K. Lo, Eds.) Transportation and Traffic Theory 2009: Golden Jubilee,, Springer, pp. 57-74.

Book Chapters

  • Cassidy, M.J. (2003) Traffic Flow and Capacity, in Handbook of Transportation Science Handbook, International Series in Operations Research & Management Science, Volume 56, Part 3, 155-191, Springer.
  • Cassidy, M.J. (1999) Traffic Flow and Capacity, in Transportation Engineering Handbook, Kluwer Academic Press.
  • Cassidy, M.J., (1994). Highway Traffic Operations, in Civil Engineering Handbook, CRC Press.
  • Cassidy, M.J., (1994). Intelligent Vehicle Highway Systems, in Science & Technology Yearbook, Encyclopedia Britannica.