Combining technology and human behavior to reshape transportation systems

Daisha Cárdenas.

Daisha Cárdenas, civil engineer major

Published September 22, 2025

Daisha Cárdenas, a civil engineer from Colombia, joined the Department of Civil, Structural, and Environmental Engineering in fall 2025 as a PhD student. Her research focuses on road safety, mobility equity and the role of vulnerable road users—such as pedestrians and cyclists—in shaping sustainable transportation systems.

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“Understanding human behavior is essential for designing safer and more equitable transportation systems. ”
Daisha Cárdenas, Civil Engineering major
Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering

She has contributed to major transportation projects in Colombia, including work with the National Road Safety Agency, where she analyzed human behavior and its relationship to traffic safety. Over the past few years, she has been involved in Bogotá Metro Line 1, applying geographic information systems (GIS), data analysis, and process monitoring to support one of the country’s most ambitious infrastructure projects.

At UB, Cárdenas is part of the Transportation Research and Visualization Laboratory, working under Assistant Professor Austin Angulo. One of her research interests is investigating how territorial conditions and emerging technologies influence road user behavior, using GIS and virtual reality simulations to design and evaluate innovative roadway safety measures.

“Understanding human behavior is essential for designing safer and more equitable transportation systems,” Cárdenas says. “The only way to ensure effective strategies for reducing road fatalities is by recognizing people’s preferences, reactions and patterns. Sustainable mobility solutions that improve both safety and quality of life must consider how individuals currently interact with transportation systems at all scales and how they will respond to future technologies.”

Currently, Cárdenas is involved in an eye-tracking data project that investigates potential patterns and differences in the visual behavior of anxious versus non-anxious drivers. Looking ahead, she plans to continue strengthening her skills across multiple fields, such as data management and programming, with the goal of contributing fairer transportation systems by integrating human factors with technology to design solutions that anticipate and adapt to emerging mobility challenges.