Arash Tavakoli, PhD

Assistant Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering Villanova University

  • Villanova PA

Prof. Arash Tavakoli, Ph.D., leads the Human Centered Cities Lab, focusing on human factors, human-centered design, and transport safety.

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6 min

Sport and Study: Villanova University Faculty Offer Academic Lens to Paris Olympics Storylines

All eyes are on Paris: more than 10,000 athletes from 206 nations are set to compete in the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad, the third Olympics in the City of Love and the first since 1924. Below, Villanova University faculty members provide their academic expertise on the unique storylines and narratives already taking place as Paris 2024 gets underway. Portraying a National Image in the Opening Ceremony Étienne Achille, PhD Director of French and Francophone Studies After months of speculation, the daily Le Parisien has officially confirmed that renowned French-Malian singer Aya Nakamura will lend her vocals to an opening ceremony featuring an iconic backdrop steeped in history. “Nakamura is the most-streamed Francophone singer in the world, embodying France’s culture on a global stage, and she’ll be paying homage to one of the most cherished representatives of the chanson française,” said Dr. Achille, referring to reports she will sing one of beloved French crooner Charles Aznavour’s greatest hits. According to Dr. Achille, the pop star’s presence is significant and symbolic. “A performer, or even a flagbearer, can easily become the face of a global event like the Olympics,” he said. The details of the setting for the ceremony – in the heart of Paris, along the Seine – are just as intentionally symbolic. “Not only will this be the first opening ceremony to take place entirely outside of a stadium; its location along the river and the fact the delegations will be on boats are key. “It represents movement and connection to the world,” Dr. Achille said. “And Nakamura’s performance projects the image of a modern, multi-ethnic nation building on tradition while proudly marching into the future.” Swimming in the Seine: Safe or Not? Metin Duran, PhD Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering It is, perhaps, the most-asked question of the last few weeks. Is the Seine River, set to host multiple swimming events, safe? The river has been illegal to swim in for a century due to the presence of harmful bacteria such as E. Coli, and recent testing has reaffirmed this concern. The Seine, which had undergone an expensive cleaning to mitigate this issue, received the endorsement of Paris Mayor Ann Hidalgo, who personally took a dip in the water herself to attest to its safety. The stunt did little to convince experts such as Dr. Duran, who studies wastewater, to abandon concern about the potential health risks of athletes being exposed to pathogens in the water. “When we have fecal pollution, there is a high likelihood of pathogens being present,” Dr. Duran said. “Those could be viral, like a norovirus, or protozoan. “If you’re swimming in that water, you run the risk of ingesting it. Once you ingest that polluted water, you’re likely to contract some of those disease-causing pathogens. Ingesting this water doesn’t mean you’re necessarily going to get sick, but based on the number of people in a big city like Paris, there is a very high likelihood of some of these pathogens existing now in the river.” Accommodations for Breastfeeding Athletes Sunny Hallowell, PhD, APRN, PPCNP-BC Associate Professor of Nursing The IOC and Paris 2024 Organizing Committee is providing support to all breastfeeding athletes competing in the Games. A few national governing bodies, like the French Olympic Committee, are going a step further and offering hotel rooms near the Village for their country’s breastfeeding athletes to share with their children and spouses. “A few decades ago, the idea of a female athlete who also wanted to breastfeed their child was so taboo it may have prevented an athlete from competing,” said Dr. Hallowell. “Now, many female athletes who choose to breastfeed their newborns or toddlers conceptualize breastfeeding as another normal function of their remarkably athletic bodies.” Accommodation for breastfeeding athletes and increased awareness are needed more than ever. Dr. Hallowell notes that in addition to changing views on breastfeeding, the needs for such accommodations are increasing as the age of peak athletic performance also increases. “Advances in sports nutrition, wellness and lifestyle have extended the longevity and performance of many athletes into adulthood,” she said. And while some athletes with rigorous training regimens might feel “frustrated incorporating breastfeeding into the routine,” Dr. Hallowell says that for others, “breastfeeding provides both physical and socio-emotional benefits for the mother and the infant that allow the athlete to focus on the job of competition.” Protecting Against the Parisian Heat Ruth McDermott-Levy, PhD, MPH, RN, FAAN Professor of Nursing The potential for extreme heat in Paris has been a topic of concern for athletes and organizers, prompting certain outdoor events to be proactively scheduled at times to avoid the day’s worst heat. Current forecasts predict temperatures in the 90s for several days early on in the Games, which could be exacerbated by Paris’ reputation as an urban heat island, unable to cool due to lack of green space and building density. Dr. McDermott-Levy says the athletes are inherently vulnerable, because “the added stress of physical exertion during their events puts them at greater risk of heat-related illness.” But she also notes that many of the athletes have likely undergone pre-competition training in extreme heat conditions to acclimate and will have trainers and health professionals monitoring them frequently. “The group of concern are the workers at the stadiums, outdoor workers and spectators who are there to enjoy or work at the events and may have had little to no acclimation,” Dr. McDermott-Levy said. “They need to follow local instructions and take frequent breaks from the heat, seek shade and maintain hydration by avoiding alcohol and sugary drinks and drinking water.” How Nature Can Inspire Future Use of Olympic Infrastructure Alyssa Stark, PhD Assistant Professor of Biology Gone, hopefully, are the days of abandoned Olympic Villages and venues, overrun with weeds and rendered useless soon after the Games conclude. The IOC’s commitment to sustainability has been transparently relayed ahead of the 2024 Games, featuring a robust range of initiatives and programs. Dr. Stark is particularly interested in one aspect of ensuring a sustainable Olympics. “How will the structures, materials and systems they developed for the Olympics be re-used, re-shaped or re-worked afterward?” she posed. “This could include re-using buildings to larger scale or re-working transportation systems set in place for the Games that could then integrate into day-to-day life post Olympics.” At the root of her interest is the concept of biomimicry. “A lot of the way we think about designing, if we’re using this biomimicry lens, is how do we learn from nature to solve problems that we have in a sustainable way, keeping in mind the environment we are in?” Dr. Stark said. In this case, consider how something like a dwelling of a living creature might be repurposed to fit the needs of another creature, or serve another natural purpose, without harming the ecosystem. Could that inspire a way to re-use the Olympic infrastructure? “There are a ton of examples of [biomimicry] being used and working in products,” Dr. Stark said. “But I would say the next step is looking at the social levels of these big ecosystems – building architecture, city planning, flow of information and, in this instance, repurposing what was created for the Olympics.” Paris Could Be a Transportation Model for Major City Events in the United States Arash Tavakoli, PhD Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Paris has invested 250 million Euro the last several years to transform the city to a 100% cycling city, making it one of the most bike-friendly municipalities in the world. Currently, more trips are being made by bicycles in Paris than by cars (11% vs. 4%), a trend that has permeated to the surrounding suburbs as well. With an influx of travelers in Paris for the Games, Dr. Tavakoli, an expert in human transportation, said, “The Olympics will be a test for how well these kinds of systems respond to high fluctuations in the population as compared to vehicle-centric systems.” While Paris is thousands of miles away from the United States, how bicycle, pedestrian and vehicle systems work during the Games could provide helpful insight ahead of major events in American cities. “With the World Cup coming to the U.S. in a few years, it will be interesting to compare [Paris] with how our own system responds to people’s needs,” Dr. Tavakoli said. “Not just based on traffic data and congestion, but also considering factors like how comfortable the transportation system is, how much it affects our well-being and how much it attracts a nonresident to enjoy the U.S. when their only option, for the most part, is a vehicle.”

Arash Tavakoli, PhDMetin Duran, PhDSunny G. Hallowell, PhDRuth  McDermott-Levy, PhD

Areas of Expertise

Human Factors in Transportation Engineering
Transportation Safety
Human Centered Design
Human Sensing
Naturalistic Driving
Driving Simulator Research
Well-Being

Biography

Arash is an Assistant Professor in Transportation Engineering at Villanova University. His research is focused on humanizing smart cities. He is interested in building systems that can understand, adapt, and communicate with humans. Before joining Villanova University, he was a postdoctoral scholar at Stanford University. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Virginia.

Education

University of Virginia

PhD

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Virginia Tech

MSc

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Sharif University of Technology

BSc

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Select Accomplishments

Graduate Student Proposal Award, Commonwealth Cyber Initiative

2020

Service Graduate Student Award, Link Lab

2020

Environmental Resilience Institute Graduate Fellowship

2018

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Select Media Appearances

Pennsylvania Town Hopes Squiggly Lines on Road Will Slow Down Speeding Drivers

NBC 10  tv

2025-03-31

Officials in Montgomery Township, Pennsylvania, are hoping squiggly lines on the road will help slow down speeding drivers. "We want the driver to look at it and [say], 'Hey, what's going on here? I probably have to go slow,'" said Villanova University's Arash Tavakoli, who described the step as a "traffic-calming pattern."

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After a Horrific Crash Killed a Cyclist, Advocates are Again Pushing for Barriers Between Bike Lanes and Cars

The Philadelphia Inquirer  online

2024-07-19

Any kind of bike lane can be an improvement, but those with hardened barriers protect cyclists better and deter motorists from driving in them because they don’t want to damage their cars, said Arash Tavakoli, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at Villanova University. His research focuses on how to make cities safer for pedestrians and cyclists, as well as the psychological effects of urban infrastructure.

Ideally, he said, strong bike lanes would be paired with some stepped-up enforcement against speeding as well as design elements that slow vehicles in densely packed areas, such as “road diets,” narrowing the traffic lanes, and the use of traffic-calming devices like speed tables.

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Research Grants

From Data to Design: Enhancing Pedestrian Infrastructure for Well-Being through Mobile Sensing and Experience Sampling in the Wild

National Science Foundation

June 2024
In his project, “From Data to Design: Enhancing Pedestrian Infrastructure for Well-Being through Mobile Sensing and Experience Sampling in the Wild,” Tavakoli and his team of researchers will work with focus groups in a suburban setting to analyze how various walkways, even safe ones, affect well-being metrics such as stress levels. Based on their findings and with direct collaboration with the community, the team will develop and test virtual sidewalk models designed to improve the walking experience. The researchers aim to pinpoint exactly what environmental factors contribute to lowering well-being metrics and how modifications can mitigate these adverse effects.

Select Academic Articles

Public transit of the future: Enhancing well-being through designing human-centered public transportation spaces

Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives

Yasaman Hakiminejad, Elizabeth Pantesco, Arash Tavakoli

2025

Studies show that psychological effects are one of the top concerns for public transportation users. While many Americans spend a significant portion of their time in public transportation spaces, the impact of the design and maintenance of these spaces on user well-being has not been fully studied. In this study, we conducted a survey to better understand the effect of implementing different designs on people’s well-being and perceptual metrics.

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Unveiling the Impact of Cognitive Distraction on Cyclists Psycho-Behavioral Responses in an Immersive Virtual Environment

IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems

2024

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that the number of bicyclist fatalities has increased by more than 35% since 2010. One of the main reasons associated with cyclists’ crashes is the adverse effect of drivers’ cognitive distractions. However, very limited studies have evaluated the impact of cyclists’ cognitive distraction on their behaviors and safety. This study leverages an Immersive Virtual Environment (IVE) simulation environment to explore the effect of secondary tasks on cyclists’ cognitive distraction by evaluating their behavioral and physiological responses. Specifically, by recruiting 75 participants, this study explores the effect of listening to music versus talking on the phone as standardized secondary tasks on participants’ behavior (i.e., speed, lane position, input power, head movement) as well as, physiological responses including participants’ heart rate variability and skin conductance metrics.

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How are drivers’ stress levels and emotions associated with the driving context? A naturalistic study

Journal of Transport & Health

2023

Understanding and mitigating drivers' negative emotions, and stress levels, is of high importance for enhancing road safety, and human well-being. While detecting drivers' stress and negative emotions can significantly help with this goal, understanding what might be associated with increases in drivers' negative emotions and high stress level, might better help with planning interventions, which has not been explored in detail. Methods: In this study, by using a naturalistic driving study database, we analyze the changes in drivers' heart rate and facial expressions with respect to the changes in the driving scene, including road objects and the dynamical relationship between the ego vehicle and the lead vehicle. Results: Our results indicate that different road objects might be associated with varying levels of increase in drivers' HR as well as different proportions of negative facial emotions detected through computer vision. Larger vehicles on the road, such as trucks and buses, are associated with the highest amount of increase in drivers' HR as well as negative emotions.

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