Horst Complex

dr.ir. M.B. Ulak PhD (Baran)

Assistant Professor
ET-CEM-TP
Horst Complex
m.b.ulak@utwente.nl
+31534894815
Business card

I (Baran) am an assistant professor of Traffic Safety, Smart Mobility, and Resilience Science at the Transport Studies Group. My research interest spans from safety, mobility, and accessibility to resilience and disaster assessment. I am focused on the statistical and spatial analysis of traffic safety, modelling of mobility and accessibility, demographic and socioeconomic assessment of daily transportation incidents and natural hazards, and smart city concepts. I teach Traffic Safety, Smart Mobility, and Urban Resilience master courses. I am the coordinator for MSc thesis assignments for the transport engineering and management MSc track. I am a current member of the Young Academy Twente, the European Consortium of Innovative Universities, and the International Cooperation on Theories and Concepts in Traffic safety. I am serving as editor of Traffic Safety Research journal.

Professional Experience

  • 2020-current: Assistant Professor, Transport Engineering and Management (TEM) group, Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering Technology, University of Twente
  • 2019-2020: Postdoctoral Associate, Civil Engineering, the State University of New York at Stony Brook
  • 2014–2018: Graduate Research Assistant, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Florida State University
  • 2012–2014: Civil Engineer, SWS Engineering and Dia Holding FZCO, Turkey

Education

  • 2018 PhD, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Florida State University, USA.
  • 2011 MSc, Civil Engineering for Risk Mitigation, Politecnico di Milano, Italy.
  • 2009 BSc, Civil Engineering, Middle East Technical University, Turkiye.

Expertise

  • Social Sciences

    • Cyclists
    • Urban Areas
    • Case Studies
    • Dutch
    • Analysis
    • Evaluation
    • Bicycles

  • Computer Science

    • Models

Organisations

My research activities primarily involve topics of traffic safety, smart mobility, and resilient transport, with a growing focus on understanding the interactions among these domains. I continue growing my research portfolio, focusing on the safety of vulnerable road users, including pedestrians, cyclists, minors and ageing individuals, and diverse groups of road users with different needs and capabilities. Furthermore, the interactions between safety and technology, including smart mobility systems as well as artificial intelligence technologies, are the research areas that I am interested in. I give particular importance to interdisciplinary research, developing links and relationships between topics that are seemingly disparate but in fact interrelated. I believe that exploring such links and relationships opens pathways beyond traditional boundaries and offers novel and innovative perspectives on the problems we deal with.

Supervision of PhDs

  • Teun Uijtdewilligen (graduated), research on cycling safety and effects of crowdedness on route choice and perceived safety in the Netherlands.
  • Georgios Kapousizis (graduated), research focusing on road safety impacts and user acceptance of smart connected bikes.
  • Mehrnaz Asadi (graduation date 11/10/2025), research focusing on accessibility and road safety to integrate safety in accessibility analysis and planning.
  • Mario Boot (expected end date 01/02/2026), research focusing on user experience of smart connected bikes.
  • Luqi Dong (expected end date 01/06/2026), research focusing on the impacts of shared mobility on multimodal and equitable accessibility.

Publications

Jump to: 2025 | 2024 | 2023

2025

Cognitive load in cyclists while navigating in traffic: Effects of static and dynamic route events on neural activity of cyclists measured by fNIRS (2025)PLoS ONE, 20(12). Article e0339027. Ulak, M. B., Heine, F., Eken, A., Chinpongsuwan, P., Boot, M., Geurs, K. T., Yildirim, F. & Ghafoor, U.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0339027Exploring the Potential and Utility of Graph Neural Networks in Crash Analysis and Safety Assessment (2025)Data Science for Transportation, 8(1). Article 1 (E-pub ahead of print/First online). Ulak, M. B., Doedens, W. & Stegehuis, C.https://doi.org/10.1007/s42421-025-00144-2Factors affecting the use and option use of shared mopeds and bicycles: Evidence from Dutch metropolitan cities (2025)Travel behaviour and society, 43. Article 101204 (E-pub ahead of print/First online). Dong, L., Ulak, M. B., Azolin, L. G., Grigolon, A. B., Abouelela, M. & Geurs, K. T.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tbs.2025.101204Exploring the 15-Minute City concept for the urban outskirts: a systematic literature review (2025)European transport research review, 17(1), 1-19. Article 50. Arias-Molinares, D., Geurs, K., Grigolon, A., Ulak, B., Duran-Rodas, D., McCormick, B., Baguet, J., van Vessem, C., Adjeroud, H., Dörrzapf, L., Charalampidou, G., Bobičić, O. & Esztergár-Kiss, D.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12544-025-00743-8Integrating traffic safety and accessibility: Spatial equity impacts of city-wide speed limit reduction in Amsterdam (2025)Journal of transport geography, 128, 104391. Article 104391. Asadi, M., Ulak, M. B., Geurs, K. T., Weijermars, W., Zantema, K. & Van Veenen, E.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2025.104391Exploring the relationship between cyclists’ perceived unsafety, crash risk, and exposure in Dutch cities (2025)Accident analysis & prevention, 219. Article 108113. Uijtdewilligen, T., Ulak, M. B., Wijlhuizen, G. J. & Geurs, K. T.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2025.108113Developing a serious game for the 15-minute neighbourhood transition: Lessons learned from an expert workshop (2025)Case Studies on Transport Policy, 20. Article 101428. Garritsen, K. É., Grigolon, A. B., Ulak, M. B., Geurs, K. T., Bodum, L., Hernández Bueno, A. V. & Børsen, T.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cstp.2025.101428The impact of teleworking in hybrid job accessibility in the Netherlands: A novel agent-based modelling framework (2025)Transportation research. Part A: Policy and practice, 196. Article 104496. van Lent, S. J., Ulak, M. B., Wismans, L. J. J. & Geurs, K. T.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2025.104496Examining the nonlinear effects of traffic and built environment factors on the traffic safety of cyclist from different age groups (2025)Accident analysis & prevention, 211. Article 107872. Ulak, M. B., Asadi, M. & Geurs, K. T.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2024.107872How do cyclists experience a context-aware prototype warning system?: Assessing perceived safety, perception and riding behaviour changes through a field study (2025)Journal of Cycling and Micromobility Research, 3. Article 100051. Kapousizis, G., Jutte, A., Ulak, M. B. & Geurs, K.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcmr.2024.100051

2024

Using body sensors for evaluating the impact of smart cycling technologies on cycling experiences: a systematic literature review and conceptual framework (2024)European transport research review, 16. Article 13. Boot, M., Ulak, M. B., Geurs, K. T. & Havinga, P. J. M.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12544-024-00635-3Exploring factors affecting route choice of cyclists: A novel varying-contiguity spatially lagged exogenous modeling approach (2024)Journal of transport and land use, 17(1), 557-577. van Nijen, N., Ulak, M. B., Veenstra, S. & Geurs, K.https://doi.org/10.5198/jtlu.2024.2452A framework to include socio-demographic characteristics in potential job accessibility levels in low-car and car-free development areas in the Netherlands (2024)Journal of transport and land use, 17(1), 511-536. Meester, R., Ulak, M. B. & Geurs, K. T.https://doi.org/10.5198/jtlu.2024.2275User acceptance of smart e-bikes: What are the influential factors? A cross-country comparison of five European countries (2024)Transportation research. Part A: Policy and practice, 185. Article 104106. Kapousizis, G., Sarker, R., Ulak, M. B. & Geurs, K.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2024.104106A methodological framework to conduct joint zone-based analysis of traffic safety and accessibility (2024)Journal of transport geography, 118, 103949. Article 103949. Asadi, M., Ulak, M. B., Geurs, K. T. & Weijermars, W.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2024.103949Effects of crowding on route preferences and perceived safety of urban cyclists in the Netherlands (2024)Transportation research. Part A: Policy and practice, 183. Article 104030. Uijtdewilligen, T., Ulak, M. B., Wijlhuizen, G. J. & Geurs, K. T.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2024.104030Corrigendum to “Location selection of field hospitals amid COVID-19 considering effectiveness and fairness: A case study of Florida” [Int. J. Disaster Risk Reduc. 93 (2023) 103794] (International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction (2023) 93, (S2212420923002741), (10.1016/j.ijdrr.2023.103794)) (2024)International journal of disaster risk reduction, 105. Article 104385. Alisan, O., Ulak, M. B., Ozguven, E. E. & Horner, M. W.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2024.104385Identifying the latent relationships between factors associated with traffic crashes through graphical models (2024)Accident analysis & prevention, 197. Article 107470. Ulak, M. B. & Ozguven, E. E.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2024.107470Examining the crash risk factors associated with cycling by considering spatial and temporal disaggregation of exposure: Findings from four Dutch cities (2024)Journal of Transportation Safety and Security, 16(9), 945-971. Uijtdewilligen, T., Ulak, M., Wijlhuizen, G. J., Bijleveld, F., Geurs, K. & Dijkstra, A.https://doi.org/10.1080/19439962.2023.2273547

2023

A composite X-minute city cycling accessibility metric and its role in assessing spatial and socioeconomic inequalities – A case study in Utrecht, the Netherlands (2023)Journal of Urban Mobility, 3. Article 100043. Knap, E., Ulak, M. B., Geurs, K. T., Mulders, A. & Van der drift, S.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.urbmob.2022.100043

Research profiles

Teaching and Supervision

  • Traffic Safety (MSc – Coordinator and Teacher)
  • Smart Mobility (MSc – Coordinator and Teacher)
  • Urban Resilience in a Changing Climate (MSc – Teacher)
  • Theory Traffic & Transport Module (BSc – Coordinator)
  • Traffic Data Analysis (BSc – Teacher)
  • Coordination of BSc and MSc theses for Transport Studies
  • University Teaching Qualifications holder (2022)  
  • Supervision of 18 MSc and 13 BSc students

Affiliated study programs

Courses academic year 2025/2026

Courses in the current academic year are added at the moment they are finalised in the Osiris system. Therefore it is possible that the list is not yet complete for the whole academic year.

Courses academic year 2024/2025

Participated Projects

  • Bio-Intel-Mob - Integrating sustainable mobility and logistics with citizen-centric intelligent solutions for safe, smart, green, resilient, and inclusive cities (HORIZON-MISS-2024-CIT-01-04)
  • DREAMS - Driving Equitable and Accessible 15 Minute Neighbourhood Transformations (DUT Partnership - Driving Urban Transitions)
  • Smart Connected Bikes (NWO - Dutch Research Council - Smart Industry 2019 funding)
  • SAFE-MIND (UT ET Faculty grant)
  • Development of Safety Performance Functions for Restricted Crossing U-turn (RCUT) Intersections (Florida Department of Transportation)
  • One Bridge at a Time: Bridging the Digital Divide for the Well-Being of Aging Populations in Smart and Connected Communities (NSF - National Science Foundation)
  • Multiple projects for Center for Accessibility and Safety for an Aging Population (U.S. Department of Transportation)

Address

University of Twente

Horst Complex (building no. 20)
De Horst 2
7522 LW Enschede
Netherlands

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University of Twente

Horst Complex (building no. 20), room Z214
De Horst 2
7522 LW Enschede
Netherlands

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Organisations

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