Meet METRANS Transportation Center Administrative Assistant Arnold Valdez

Valdez has just completed his Master of Planning degree at USC Price School of Public Policy and was quickly hired by METRANS to assist with research administration. During his master’s studies, he focused on transportation and became very interested in research topics relating to transportation modeling, and spatial data analysis. Along with Arnold’s background in geography and urban planning, he has conducted extensive research on various modes of transportation including automobile, bicycle, bus, rail, freight, and aviation.

Valdez is excited to gain experience in the administrative aspect of research. He will be assisting with the management of METRANS RFPs, research projects, and center reporting, editing research reports, and writing news articles, as well as continuing some METRANS projects that he has been leading since last semester as a student assistant, such as the student podcast series.

After his 3 month term with METRANS, Valdez will be heading to Columbus, Ohio to begin his Ph.D. studies at the Knowlton School (architecture and city and regional planning), Ohio State University. His research there will focus on transportation networks and modeling. He plans to work with several departments and multiple research centers that pertain to his interests.

In his spare time, Arnold likes to code in C# to automate time-consuming processes. He is also working on out machine learning algorithms and is hoping to delve into transportation artificial intelligence in the future. In addition to his coding, Arnold enjoys listening to podcasts while walking and having conversations with his wife about urban issues and ideas. He has kept true to his father’s words as his personal motto: “to fulfill my potential, to seize opportunities presented to me, and to pursue all that is good and praiseworthy.”

(Photo by Arnold Valdez)

Shichun Hu

Shichun Hu is a first-year Master of Industrial and System Engineering candidate with interests in supply chain planning and optimization. She has also earned a certificate in Optimization and Supply Chain Management.