Susan Shaheen – “I try to frequently learn from other disciplines and carefully listen to students who bring new insights to the field”

Dr. Susan Shaheen is a pioneer and thought leader in innovative mobility strategies. She was among the first to research and write about the changing dynamics in shared mobility and likely scenarios automated vehicles might gain prominence.

Susan, why you want to solve challenges?

“I find complex problems fascinating, which employ an interdisciplinary approach. I am motivated to advance mobility strategies that provide social and environmental benefits, with a strong emphasis on mobility justice for all traveler.”

Susan is a professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. She is a Co-Director of the Transportation Sustainability Research Center of the Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS), Berkeley and Director of the UC ITS’ Resilient and Innovative Mobility Initiative.

Susan also has a Ph.D. from UC Davis and a M.S. from the University of Rochester. She has authored 75 journal articles, over 125 reports and proceedings articles, 18 book chapters, and co-edited two books.

So, how to be a great problem solver, Susan? 

“It is critical to examine problems from the standpoint of consumers and – or – users of a system. If we already come to a problem with a solution, we can miss a lot of richness and not solve the problem at all. If we come at problems looking for potential strategies to test with a lens toward users, new insights are often uncovered that may have been overlooked. We also need to think carefully about the metrics employed to measure success, so we measure the outcomes targeted and collect salient data to support the analysis.”

Susan says that being dynamic and open to new ideas, approaches, and data has been critical in her career.

“I try to frequently learn from other disciplines and carefully listen to students who bring a fresh perspective and new insights to the field.”

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