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
Destiny Brown
Ph.D. in Urban Planning and Development
Education: Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, The Ohio State University; Master of Science in Urban Studies, University of New Orleans
Research Interests: Climate change and sustainability, demography, insights extracted from youth participatory action, spatial understanding of environmental vulnerabilities, youth-led environmental planning, participatory mapping
Faculty Advisor: Santina Contreras
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
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
Jiaqi Dong
Education: Bachelor of Science in Business and Finance and Interactive Media Arts, New York University Shanghai; Master of Urban Planning and a Master of Applied Urban Science and Informatics, New York University.
Research Interests: Neighborhood change, housing markets, urban economics, and urban information systems.
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Geoff Boeing
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
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
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
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
Sheng (Christa) Tang
Ph.D. Urban Planning and Development
Education: Bachelor of Management in Electronic Commerce, South China University of Technology; Global Real Estate Master, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Master of Finance, Zhejiang University
Research Interests: Evolution of urban structures, inequality in housing markets and labor markets, the role of education in household wealth accumulation, urban economic growth in underdeveloped areas, private equity investment strategies and returns, real estate investment trusts (REITs)
Faculty Advisor: Richard Green / Moussa Diop
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