Let's do the research we want to do together! Associate Professor Nagae's life's work is to build a "new transportation system" that does not rely on private cars. He keeps his favorite cross-bike (bicycle) that he uses for his daily commute in the corner of the university. His motto is to connect the research topics that students want to try with the latest research results. The subject has somehow expanded from road transportation to the entire transportation network of bicycles, buses, and railroads.
-His research interests have expanded from road transportation to bicycle, bus, and rail transportation networks.
Transportation networks such as airlines, ships, railroads, and automobiles are infrastructures that support socioeconomic activities, and when they are functioning normally, we are not aware of their importance. When they are working, usually, we are not mindful of their significance. However, once a natural disaster or an accident prevents the normal functioning of the transportation network, we are reminded of their importance.
The "sustainability" of transportation systems, which is the foundation of society, requires three aspects: (a) environmental (less impact from disasters and traffic congestion); (2) economic (reasonable cost); and (3) social (easy to use for all).
With the basic theme of "transportation systems to support a sustainable society," our laboratory is engaged in research on optimal transportation planning, design of new transportation systems, and performance evaluation, using various theories based on transportation engineerings, such as finance theory, evolutionary game theory, network science, statistical mechanics, mathematical ecology, economics, and behavioral psychology.