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

Assistant Professor
ET-CEM-TP
Horst Complex Z217
m.b.ulak@utwente.nl
+31534894815
Business card

Mehmet Baran Ulak (Baran) is an assistant professor of Traffic Safety, Smart Mobility, and Resilience Science at the Transport Systems cluster research group. His research interest spans from transportation safety, mobility, and accessibility to resilience and disaster assessment. He is focused on the statistical and spatial analysis of traffic safety problems, network modelling of mobility and accessibility, demographic and socioeconomic assessment of daily transportation incidents and natural hazards, and smart city concepts. He teaches Traffic Safety, Smart Mobility, and Urban Resilience master courses. He is also the department coordinator of the BSc thesis projects in transport.

Before joining the University of Twente, he worked as a postdoctoral associate at the Civil Engineering department of the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He holds a PhD degree (2018) in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Florida State University with a concentration in traffic safety, urban mobility, and transportation data analysis. He received his M.Sc. degree in Civil Engineering from Politecnico di Milano (2011) and B.Sc. degree in Civil Engineering from the Middle East Technical University (2009).

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. Dissertation: Geographical Information Systems-Based Spatial and Statistical Investigation to Enhance Transportation Safety for the Aging Population
  • 2011 MSc, Civil Engineering for Risk Mitigation, Politecnico di Milano, Italy. Thesis: On the Influence of Pore Pressure, on the Apparent Tensile Strength of Concrete
  • 2009 BSc, Civil Engineering, Middle East Technical University, Turkey. Thesis: Design of Post-Tensioned Concrete Bridge on YeƟilırmak River

Expertise

  • Social Sciences

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

  • Computer Science

    • Models

Organisations

My research interests are diverse and they span from traffic safety and accessibility to smart mobility and resilience science. Of the various subjects, I am interested in broad interdisciplinary areas including the statistical and spatial analysis of traffic problems, geographical aspects of mobility and accessibility, geospatial analysis, intelligent transportation systems, and smart city concepts. I have a particular curiosity about the often disregarded importance and role of demographics and socioeconomics, or the human element in general, in tackling issues related to urban mobility.

Publications

2024
Exploring factors affecting route choice of cyclists: A novel varying-contiguity spatially lagged exogenous modeling approach, 557-577. van Nijen, N., Ulak, M. B., Veenstra, S. & Geurs, K.https://doi.org/10.5198/jtlu.2024.2452User acceptance of smart e-bikes: What are the influential factors? A cross-country comparison of five European countries, Article 104106. Kapousizis, G., Sarker, R., Ulak, M. B. & Geurs, K.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2024.104106Effects of crowding on route preferences and perceived safety of urban cyclists in the Netherlands, Article 104030. Uijtdewilligen, T., Ulak, M. B., Wijlhuizen, G. J. & Geurs, K. T.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2024.104030Identifying the latent relationships between factors associated with traffic crashes through graphical models, Article 107470. Ulak, M. B. & Ozguven, E. E.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2024.107470Using body sensors for evaluating the impact of smart cycling technologies on cycling experiences: a systematic literature review and conceptual framework, Article 13 (E-pub ahead of print/First online). Boot, M., Ulak, M. B., Geurs, K. T. & Havinga, P. J. M.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12544-024-00635-3
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, Article 100043. Knap, E., Ulak, M. B., Geurs, K. T., Mulders, A. & Van der drift, S.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.urbmob.2022.100043The interactions between accessibility and crash risk from a social equity perspective: A case study at the Rotterdam-The Hague metropolitan region, 176-186. Odijk, M. J. M., Asadi, M., Baran Ulak, M. & Geurs, K. T.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsr.2023.09.015Examining the crash risk factors associated with cycling: findings from four Dutch cities, 115-117. Uijtdewilligen, T., Ulak, M. B., Bijleveld, F., Geurs, K. & Dijkstra, A.Examining the crash risk factors associated with cycling by considering spatial and temporal disaggregation of exposure: Findings from four Dutch cities (E-pub ahead of print/First online). Uijtdewilligen, T., Ulak, M., Wijlhuizen, G. J., Bijleveld, F., Geurs, K. & Dijkstra, A.https://doi.org/10.1080/19439962.2023.2273547Using body sensors in evaluations of the impact of smart cycling technologies on cycling experienceIn MobileHCI '23 Companion: Proceedings of the 25th International Conference on Mobile Human-Computer Interaction, Article 43 (pp. 1-4). Boot, M., Ulak, B., Geurs, K. & Havinga, P.https://doi.org/10.1145/3565066.3609736Location selection of field hospitals amid COVID-19 considering effectiveness and fairness: A case study of Florida, Article 103794. Alisan, O., Ulak, M. B., Ozguven, E. E. & Horner, M. W.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2023.103794A review of state-of-the-art bicycle technologies affecting cycling safety: Level of smartness and technology readiness, 430-452. Kapousizis, G., Ulak, M. B., Geurs, K. & Havinga, P. J. M.https://doi.org/10.1080/01441647.2022.2122625An agent-based electric vehicle charging demand modelling framework to assess the needs for the energy transition in transportIn 10th International Symposium on Transportation Data & Modelling (ISTDM2023): Booklet of Abstracts (pp. 155-158). Publications Office of the European Union. Girgin, S., Ulak, M. B. & Eikenbroek, O. A. L.https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10207489Acceptance of new technologies affecting safety on electric bicycles: evidence from five European countries.. Kapousizis, G., Sarker, R., Ulak, M. B. & Geurs, K.Which road safety-related factors influence users’ acceptance towards Smart e-bikes: A European based survey, 84-86. Kapousizis, G., Sarker, R., Ulak, M. B. & Geurs, K.Public opinion on smart bicycle technologies enhancing cycling safety: A survey study among 1354 cyclists across Europe, 210-212. Kapousizis, G., Ulak, M. B. & Geurs, K.https://swov.nl/nl/publicatie/11th-international-cycling-safety-conference-2023Development of a new zone-based cycling safety metric to determine the crash risk associated with work tripsIn Book of Abstracts 11th International Cycling Safety Conference 2023, 15-17 November 2023, The Hague, the Netherlands. SWOV. Asadi, M., Ulak, M. B., Geurs, K. T. & Weijermars, W.
2022
Ridership dynamics and characteristics of potential riders of a transit system: The SunRail of Central Florida, Article 100720. Ulak, M. B., Ozguven, E. E., Horner, M. W., Weaver, L., Puente, J., Crute, J., Smith, D. J., Duncan, M. & Whitton, E.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trip.2022.100720Level of smartness and technology readiness of bicycle technologies affecting cycling safety: A review of literature, 141-143. Kapousizis, G., Ulak, M. B., Geurs, K. & Havinga, P. J. M.https://doi.org/10.25368/2022.462How does hourly variation in exposure to cyclists and motorised vehicles affect cyclist safety? A case study from a Dutch cycling capital, Article 105740. Uijtdewilligen, T., Ulak, M. B., Wijlhuizen, G. J., Bijleveld, F., Dijkstra, A. & Geurs, K. T.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2022.105740

Research profiles

Researchers at FAMU-FSU Engineering Use Metric Specific Technology to Keep Seniors Safer on the Road (click for more information)

Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering Eren Ozguven and graduate student Mehmet Baran Ulak published a new study in the journal Accident Analysis and Prevention that uses metrics to analyze the location of crashes, the time they occur and how this relates to the crash occurrence. The study resulted in some interesting revelations including how location is related to senior driver crash rates.


Civil engineering postdoc selected for 4TU Resilience Engineering Fellowship (click for more information)

Onur Alisan, Ph.D., a postdoctoral research associate at the Resilient Infrastructure and Disaster Response Center (RIDER) has received an esteemed fellowship award from the 4TU Center for Resilience Engineering. “I welcome the opportunity to work with Dr. Alisan on such an important topic,” Mehmet Baran Ulak, assistant professor at the University of Twente, said. “Through the collaboration between 4TU RE and RIDER, we have an excellent opportunity to conduct cutting-edge multi-disciplinary research to improve the resilience of our vulnerable communities.

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 Z217
De Horst 2
7522 LW Enschede
Netherlands

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