Chenfeng Xiong
Chenfeng Xiong

Assistant Professor of Transportation Engineering

Faculty Fellow, Strategic Initiative for Climate, Justice, and Sustainability, Villanova University

I study how people move, and how mobility systems shape safety, health, climate, and equity.

  • Mobility Data
  • AI + Big Data
  • Simulation
  • Travel Behavior
  • Safety + Health
  • Climate + Equity
NovaMobility Labs Villanova Human Mobility Labs
100+ Publications
$12M+ Sponsored Research
30+ Students + Alumni

Teaching portfolio

Teaching transportation as a living system.

I modernize transportation engineering education by connecting field observation, simulation, experiments, research seminars, and mentored student projects. Students learn transportation not only as formulas and design standards, but as a system they can measure, model, question, and improve.

3learning modes
6undergraduate paper contributors
4+seminars and workshops

01 / Modernizing the field

From lectures to lived transportation systems.

My courses use field studies, simulation modeling, experiments, and project-based learning to make transportation engineering tangible. Students collect observations, test design ideas, and connect classroom methods to real mobility systems around campus and the Philadelphia region.

  • Field studies that put students in direct contact with traffic operations, transit service, and roadway design.
  • Hands-on modules using simulation, data analysis, and system design exercises.
  • Student presentations that turn technical observation into evidence-based engineering judgment.
Students conducting a field study near Villanova's campus gateway
Students recognized in Introduction to Transportation Engineering
Student team presenting a SEPTA Conshohocken station project

02 / Research in the classroom

Bringing students close to high-level transportation research.

I invite scholars and practitioners into the classroom through seminars, guest lectures, and workshops so that undergraduate and graduate students can see how research questions are formed, debated, and translated into practice.

  • Recent visitors and examples include Kara Kockelman, Jaeyoung Lee, Chaoru Lu, and Paul Comfort.
  • Topics span pedestrian and bicycle safety, mobility analytics, transit practice, modeling, infrastructure, and technology adoption.
  • The goal is to make research culture visible and approachable early in students' training.
Guest lecture on pedestrian and bicycle safety
Transportation research workshop with students
Paul Comfort visiting Villanova transportation engineering
Kara Kockelman speaking in a transportation seminar

03 / Research pathways

Designing research projects for students at different entry points.

I build scaffolded research experiences for high school, undergraduate, and graduate students, including the Villanova Summer Research Internship, Match Program, Sophomore Research Scholar, and Villanova Summer Research Scholarship. These projects give students a real path from curiosity to research output.

6 undergraduate students have contributed to paper publications through mentored transportation research projects.
Undergraduate student research team presenting flood impact analysis
Students exploring transportation simulation and immersive lab tools

Courses and formats

Core teaching areas

Undergraduate

CEE 2211: Introduction to Transportation Engineering

Field studies, traffic operations, transit, multimodal systems, and introductory design judgment.

Undergraduate

CEE 4226: Transportation System Design

System-level design, project analysis, data-informed evaluation, and applied engineering communication.

Graduate

CEE 8201: Urban Transportation Engineering

Urban mobility systems, planning, modeling, policy, equity, and emerging transportation data.

Workshops

Simulation and Research Methods

Short-format modules on traffic simulation, mobility data, modeling tools, and research practice.