Ph.D. Student Sophie Pavia Wins Best Paper Award at INFORMS Conference

Sophie Pavia, a Ph.D. student, has been awarded the prestigious Best Paper Award in the DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) competition at the INFORMS conference in Seattle. Her paper, "Foundations of Equitable Transit Network," stood out for its innovative approach to addressing equity in public transit design.

Public transportation is critical for providing access to essential services, such as education, healthcare, and employment. However, many existing transit systems fail to consider equity as a core design principle, disproportionately affecting underserved communities. Pavia’s research focuses on bridging this gap by introducing a mathematical model for transit network design that integrates equity and welfare. The model, formulated as a mixed-integer linear program (MILP), aims to ensure that public transit systems serve all segments of the population more fairly.

Pavia’s work goes beyond theoretical modeling by proposing two algorithmic approaches for designing equity-aware transit networks. Her research was informed by a community survey of 673 residents from Chattanooga, Tennessee, which provided real-world data to explore the trade-offs between network design and different concepts of equity. The results of her work highlight important considerations for implementing equitable transit solutions in metropolitan areas.

This recognition at the INFORMS conference reflects the significant contributions Pavia’s research is making toward developing more inclusive and accessible public transportation systems.