The Team
Dr. Mor Kaspi is a senior lecturer and the head of the Analytics for Urban Transportation & Operations Laboratory (AUTOlab) in the Department of Industrial Engineering at Tel-Aviv University. He holds a B.Sc, M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from Tel-Aviv University. He spent two years as postdoctoral researcher in the Urban Transport Systems Laboratory (LUTS) at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). His main research interests are in the transportation and logistics areas with focus on innovative public transit, vehicle sharing systems and on-demand transportation based on autonomous vehicles.
Mor Kaspi
Head of AUTOlab
Dr. David Epstein is the Data Manager at AUTOlab. He holds a Ph.D. in Urban Planning from the University of Michigan. Before joining the lab, Dr. Epstein conducted program evaluations for the US Department of Transportation (Volpe Center) and urban research for the University of Baltimore (Jacob-France Institute). Dr. Epstein has led or contributed to evaluations for the Federal Highways Administration, the Ford Foundation, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor. He was a Fulbright Fellow to Israel in 2007.
David Epstein
Data Manager
Current Lab Members
Alon Bloch is a Ph.D. student in the department of Industrial Engineering at Tel-Aviv University. He earned a B.Sc. degree in Industrial Engineering and Management (graduated with honors) and an M.Sc. degree in Industrial Engineering at Tel-Aviv University. His research focuses on the design and operation of Automated Parking, looking for ways to improve such systems for both the operators and the customers, hopefully enabling them to become a common parking solution in dense urban areas. When he is not at his desk, he is either spending time with his kids or at reserve service at the IDF.
Alon Bloch
Ph.D. Student
Avital Shamir is a research student in the department of Industrial Engineering at Tel-Aviv University. She holds a B.Sc. degree in Industrial Engineering and Management and a M.Sc. degree in Industrial Engineering from Ben Gurion University with a specialization in Data Science and Business Analytics. Her research focuses on reinforcement learning approaches to optimizing semi-autonomous transportation systems. For the last ten years, Avital has been a research scientist at Intel Corporation.
Avital Shamir
Ph.D. Student
Omer Karny is a student in Tel Aviv University’s Industrial Engineering (Business Analytics) Master’s program. Omer’s research goal is to investigate the potential of integrating new technologies in existing public transit to form novel transportation services. Omer has a B.Sc. in Mathematics and Computer Science from Ben Gurion University. Omer also currently holds rank as a Major in a combat unit in the IAF, where he has served for the past 12 years. During his time in the IAF, he has received several rewards for outstanding service.
Omer Karny
MSc Student
Idan Meshulami is a graduate Electrical Engineering student at Tel-Aviv University. He holds a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering and Electronics (graduated with honors) and a B.Sc. in Physics.
Idan’s research focuses on on-demand transportation services. Specifically, he studies a new version of the Dial-a-Ride Problem (DARP) which incorporates transfers between vehicles and transit modes. His main research goal is to devise heuristic methods that will enable solving large-scale instances of the problem derived from real-world systems.
Idan Meshulami
MSc Student
Yuval Eppel serves as a teaching assistant in the university and is transitioning to his MSc degree work in the Fast-Track to Master’s Program. He will apply operations research techniques like those employed in AUTOlab to sports decision-making. Yuval is especially interested in the selection of the go-to player for game-deciding shots in basketball and is excited to bring his enthusiasm and knowledge about the sport to his research.
Yuval Eppel
MSc Student
Yishay Shapira is a Business Analytics Master's of Science student in Tel Aviv University’s Industrial Engineering Department. He holds a B.Sc. degree in Industrial Engineering and Management from Jerusalem College of Technology, graduating with honors. His research focuses on optimization problems arising in the operation of innovative public transit enhanced robotic delivery services. In parallel, he is a data scientist at Intel Corporation.
Yishay Shapira
MSc Student
Rotem Zohar is a member of the honors fast-track to a B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Industrial Engineering at Tel-Aviv University with a specialization in Data Science and Business Analytics. Her research focuses on the “Last-Mile Problem” while using autonomous robots for parcels delivery by constructing a decision-making model based on machine learning techniques.
Rotem Zohar
MSc Student
Affiliated Researchers
Ohad Eisenhandler is a Lecturer at the School of Industrial Engineering, Afeka College of Engineering in Tel Aviv, Israel. He holds a B.Sc. (Summa cum Laude), M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from Tel Aviv University. His research focuses on the logistic challenges of complex systems, primarily in the context of transportation services and humanitarian operations.
Ohad Eisenhandler
Lecturer, Afeka College
Visiting Scholars
Daniel Schröder
Daniel Schröder is a Ph.D. student in the department of Mobility Systems Engineering at Technical University of Munich, Germany. He earned a B.Sc. degree in Mechanical Engineering and a M.Sc. degree in Automotive Engineering at RWTH Aachen University, Germany. After his Master’s graduation, he worked briefly as a consultant in the automotive industry before starting his Ph.D. at TU Munich. His research focuses on the full costs (internal and external) of mobility and the implementation of full-cost-based pricing in urban mobility systems. It also includes the full-cost-based optimization of other mobility options such as on-demand shuttle services.
Ph.D. Student, TU Munich
Past Lab Members (Alumni)
Claudia Bongiovanni graduated in 2020 with a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland. Her dissertation, The Electric Autonomous Dial-a-Ride Problem, is now available.
Claudia Bongiovanni
Martin Repoux graduated in 2020 with a Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland. His dissertation, Optimization of Operational Decisions for On-Demand Shared Mobility Systems, is now available.
Martin Repoux
Gal Levy graduated in 2021 with a MS.c in Industrial Engineering and Management from Tel-Aviv University, specializing in Business Analytics. He earned a B.Sc. degree in Information System Engineering at Ben-Gurion University. Gal’s research focus was urban mobility behavior analysis based on smart on-demand taxi services. His final project, On-Demand Taxi Service Behavior Upon A Road Hierarchy, is now available.
Gal Levy
Gallery
Conferences and holidays provide a backdrop for food, drinks, and conversation--including (gasp!) conversations not about transportation.
Presenters at the Smart Transportation Student Conference at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, December 15, 2021. From left to right: Edison Avraham (PhD Student), Alon Bloch (AUTOlab PhD Student), Idan Meshulami (AUTOlab MSc Student), Gal Neria (PhD Student), Avital Shamir (AUTOlab PhD Student), Shachaf Ben Gal (MSc Student), David Epstein (AUTOlab Data Manager)
AUTOlab PhD student Avital Shamir presenting at the Smart Transportation Student Conference at Hebrew University in Jerusalem on Dec 15, 2021.
AUTOlab MSc student Idan Meshulami presenting at the Smart Transportation Student Conference at Hebrew University in Jerusalem on Dec 15, 2021.