Recent Ph.D. graduate and METRANS researcher Dr. E-Sok (Andy) Hong has been hired as a postdoctoral research fellow at the School of Population and Public Health in the University of British Columbia.

Hong began his studies at USC in the fall of 2011, bringing with him a B.S. in informatics, and two Master’s degrees from the University of Washington – one in urban planning and the other in public administration.  While at USC he worked as a graduate instructor for 500+ level courses.

Hong has also published research in the high-impact academic journals Transportation Research Part A and Environmental Science and Technology with faculty such as USC’s Dr’s. Marlon Boarnet and Lisa Schweitzer. Hong’s work focuses on air quality analysis and its relationship to transportation, using high-quality experimental design. Part of his projects revolved around the opening of Expo Line Phase 1 and CicLAvia street festivals. His dissertation was titled “Healthy Mobility: Untangling the Relationships between the Built Environment, Travel Behavior, and Environmental Health.”

Of his time at USC he says, “My research experience at USC and METRANS was pivotal to getting my post-doc job. The Expo Line study (PI: Dr. Marlon Boarnet) in which I was involved during my doctoral study is one of the few studies that are based on before-and-after research design. This study received a lot of attention among researchers in health and transportation disciplines, and people in this research area already knew what I was doing even before applying to the post-doc position.”

“As a regular bike commuter, I am a true believer in active and healthy mobility. My love for bicycling got me interested in transportation. Although there are lots of great initiatives to promote active transportation, I think we as planners and researchers have so many things to do to help make the built environment and transportation system more suitable for pedestrians and bicyclists. My personal belief is that we can make the healthy travel choice the easy choice through coordinated efforts in urban planning and design, transportation, and public health.”

In his new role, Hong will work under the direction of Dr. Larry Frank, Professor and Director of the Health and Community Design Lab at the University of British Columbia. As part of his new responsibilities, Hong will be involved the Health Monetization Project, which investigates the relationship between the built environment and health care utilization costs in the Vancouver metropolitan region.

(Photo by Andy Hong)

Arnold Valdez

Arnold Valdez is a recent Master of Planning graduate from the University of Southern California. Valdez is now working as METRANS administrative assistant during the summer. In the fall, 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.