YZ Yimeng Zhang

About

I work on AI-driven optimization for multimodal, synchromodal, and maritime transport systems.

My research develops operations research, data mining, reinforcement learning, and preference-learning methods for dynamic and collaborative transport planning. Applications include rail-water-road freight networks, public transport and shared mobility, maritime logistics, port operations, and low-altitude air-ground logistics.

I received my Ph.D. from Delft University of Technology under Prof. Rudy R. Negenborn and Dr. Bilge Atasoy, and later worked with Prof. Oded Cats and Dr. Shadi Sharif Azadeh on sustainable multimodal passenger transport.

Operations research Reinforcement learning Synchromodal freight Maritime logistics Shared mobility Vehicle routing Preference learning

Research Interests

Dynamic multimodal transport planning

Decision models for rail-water-road networks, low-altitude logistics, public transport, and shared mobility under stochastic travel times, demand, and capacity.

Learning-assisted optimization

Hybrid reinforcement learning, adaptive large neighborhood search, multi-agent control, stochastic optimization, and preference learning for real-time decisions.

Maritime and port logistics

AIS-based data mining, fleet routing, ship emissions, berth allocation, collaborative port optimization, and semantic modelling of ship behavior.

Sustainable and collaborative systems

Planning methods that coordinate operators, terminals, shippers, passengers, and public agencies while balancing cost, time, emissions, and service quality.

Appointments and Education

2025.09 - Present

Associate Professor, Southwest Jiaotong University

School of Transportation and Logistics. Research and supervision in multimodal transport optimization and AI-driven logistics.

2024.01 - 2024.08

Assistant Professor, Southwest Jiaotong University

School of Transportation and Logistics.

2023.07 - 2025.04

Postdoctoral Researcher / Collaborator, Delft University of Technology

Research on sustainable multimodal passenger transport and shared mobility with Prof. Oded Cats and Dr. Shadi Sharif Azadeh.

2019.09 - 2023.06

Ph.D., Delft University of Technology

Transportation Engineering and Logistics. Dissertation: Flexible, Dynamic, and Collaborative Synchromodal Transport Planning Considering Preferences.

2012.09 - 2019.06

Wuhan University of Technology

M.Eng. in Transport Information Engineering and Control; B.Eng. in Navigation Technology / Transport Planning.

Publications

Numbered from earliest to latest. Paper titles open the full-text PDF, and thumbnails are first-page screenshots from the PDFs.

  1. First page of semantic ship behaviour ontology paper
    2018

    Semantic Model of Ship Behaviour Based on Ontology Engineering

    Zhang Y., Wen Y., Zhang F., Zhou C., Du L., Huang L., Xiao C. The Journal of Engineering, 2018(16): 1746-1752.

    DOI Ship behaviour
  2. First page of ship domain modeling paper
    2018

    Ship Domain Modeling Based on AIS Data (基于 AIS 数据的船舶领域建模)

    Wen Y., Wang Y., Zhang F., Zhang Y., Huang L., Zhou C. Navigation of China, 41(4): 1-6.

    Chinese article AIS data
  3. First page of semantic ship behavior harbor paper
    2019

    Semantic Modelling of Ship Behavior in Harbor Based on Ontology and Dynamic Bayesian Network

    Wen Y., Zhang Y., Huang L., Zhou C., Xiao C., Zhang F., Peng X., Zhan W., Sui Z. ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information, 8(3): 107.

    DOI Maritime semantics
  4. First page of autonomous visual perception paper
    2019

    Autonomous Visual Perception for Unmanned Surface Vehicle Navigation in an Unknown Environment

    Zhan W., Xiao C., Wen Y., Zhou C., Yuan H., Xiu S., Zhang Y., Zou X., Liu X., Li Q. Sensors, 19(10): 2216.

    DOI Unmanned surface vehicles
  5. First page of ship behavior dynamic reasoning paper
    2019

    Mechanism of Ship Behavior Dynamic Reasoning Based on Semantics (基于语义的船舶行为动态推理机制)

    Wen Y., Zhang Y., Huang L., Zhou C., Xiao C., Zhang F. Navigation of China, 42(3): 34-39.

    Chinese article Dynamic reasoning
  6. First page of automatic ship route design paper
    2020

    Automatic Ship Route Design between Two Ports: A Data-Driven Method

    Wen Y., Sui Z., Zhou C., Xiao C., Chen Q., Han D., Zhang Y.. Applied Ocean Research, 96: 102049.

    DOI Ship routing
  7. First page of ship exhaust dispersion simulation paper
    2020

    Ship Exhaust Emission Dispersion Simulation Calculation Method (船舶废气排放扩散模拟计算方法研究)

    Peng X., Wen Y., Xiao C., Huang L., Zhou C., Zhang F., Yang T., Zhang Y.. Journal of Safety and Environment, 20(1): 255-264.

    Chinese article Ship emissions
  8. First page of dynamic ship exhaust emissions paper
    2020

    Dynamic Calculation of Ship Exhaust Emissions Based on Real-Time AIS Data

    Huang L., Wen Y., Zhang Y., Zhou C., Zhang F., Yang T. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 80: 102277.

    DOI TR D
  9. First page of marine oil spill emergency materials paper
    2020

    Assessment of Emergency Material Accessibility for Marine Oil Spill (海上溢油应急物资可达能力研究)

    Peng X., Wen Y., Xiao C., Huang L., Zhou C., Zhang F., Yuan H., Zhang Y.. Journal of Wuhan University of Technology (Transportation Science and Engineering), 44(1).

    Chinese article Emergency response
  10. First page of inland waterway pickup and delivery paper
    2020

    Pickup and Delivery Problem with Transshipment for Inland Waterway Transport

    Zhang Y., Atasoy B., Souravlias D., Negenborn R. R. International Conference on Computational Logistics, 18-35.

    Conference paper Inland waterways
  11. First page of preference-based ALNS paper
    2022

    Preference-Based Multi-Objective Optimization for Synchromodal Transport Using Adaptive Large Neighborhood Search

    Zhang Y.*, Atasoy B., Negenborn R. R. Transportation Research Record, 2676(3): 71-87.

    DOI Multi-objective ALNS
  12. First page of flexible synchromodal services paper
    2022

    Synchromodal Transport Planning with Flexible Services: Mathematical Model and Heuristic Algorithm

    Zhang Y., Guo W., Negenborn R. R., Atasoy B. Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies, 140: 103711.

    DOI TR C
  13. First page of dynamic synchromodal transport planning workshop paper
    2022

    Dynamic Synchromodal Transport Planning under Uncertainty: A Reinforcement Learning Approach

    Zhang Y., Negenborn R. R., Atasoy B. INFORMS Transportation Science and Logistics Workshop.

    Workshop paper Reinforcement learning
  14. First page of vague shipper preferences paper
    2022

    Synchromodal Transport Planning Considering Heterogeneous and Vague Preferences of Shippers

    Zhang Y.*, Li X., van Hassel E., Negenborn R. R., Atasoy B. Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, 164: 102827.

    DOI TR E
  15. First page of collaborative intermodal eco-label paper
    2022

    Collaborative Planning for Intermodal Transport with Eco-Label Preferences

    Zhang Y.*, Heinold A., Meisel F., Negenborn R. R., Atasoy B. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 112: 103470.

    DOI TR D
  16. First page of synchromodal re-planning paper
    2023

    Synchromodal Freight Transport Re-Planning under Service Time Uncertainty: An Online Model-Assisted Reinforcement Learning

    Zhang Y.*, Negenborn R. R., Atasoy B. Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies, 156: 104355.

    DOI TR C
  17. First page of augmented Lagrangian synchromodal paper
    2024

    Augmented Lagrangian Relaxation-Based Coordinated Approach for Global Synchromodal Transport Planning with Multiple Operators

    Guo W., Zhang Y.*, Li W., Negenborn R. R., Atasoy B. Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, 185: 103535.

    DOI TR E
  18. First page of operational synchromodal review paper
    2025

    Operational Synchromodal Transport Planning Methodologies: Review and Roadmap

    Zhang Y.*, Tan X., Gan M., Liu X., Atasoy B. Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, 194: 103915.

    DOI Review
  19. First page of integrated synchromodal preference learning paper
    2025

    Integrated Synchromodal Transport Planning and Preference Learning

    He M., Zhang Y.*, Atasoy B. Transportation Research Record, 2679(5): 562-582.

    DOI TRB Best Academic Paper Award
  20. First page of waterborne vessel fleet management paper
    2025

    Dynamic Fleet Management of Waterborne Vessels with Mixed Passenger and Parcel Services

    Miyoshi H., Zhang Y.*, Azadeh S. S., Cats O. npj Sustainable Mobility and Transport, 2(1): 16.

    DOI Nature Portfolio
  21. First page of dynamic preference multimodal trip planning paper
    2025

    Dynamic Preference-Based Multi-Modal Trip Planning of Public Transport and Shared Mobility

    Zhang Y.*, Cats O., Azadeh S. S. Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, 202: 104286.

    DOI Shared mobility
  22. First page of resilient synchromodal transport paper
    2025

    Resilient Synchromodal Transport through Learning Assisted Hybrid Simulation Optimization Model

    Dewantara S., Filom S., Razavi S., Atasoy B., Zhang Y., Saeednia M. Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies, 181: 105366.

    DOI Resilience
  23. First page of low-altitude aircraft operations review
    2025

    A Review of Optimization Methods for Low-Altitude Aircraft Operations (低空飞行器运行优化决策方法综述与展望)

    Fan W., Xiao J., Wu Y., Zhang Y.*, Yang C., Gan M., Liu X. Journal of Transportation Engineering and Information, 23(3): 3-25.

    DOI Low-altitude economy
  24. First page of dynamic multimodal drone emergency logistics paper
    2026

    Dynamic Multimodal Transport Planning with Drones for Emergency Logistics: Mathematical Model and Heuristic Algorithm

    Zhang Y., Zhu S., Pu K., Cui H., Gan M., Liu X., Ai R. Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, 206: 104558.

    DOI Emergency logistics
  25. First page of data-driven maritime logistics paper
    2026

    Data-Driven Optimization for Maritime Logistics: Integrating Transport Network Mining with Ship Fleet Routing

    Zhang Y., Huang L., Wang J., Lin H., Zhu S., Gan M., Liu X., Ai R. Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies, 183: 105451.

    DOI Maritime logistics
  26. First page of priority-based multi-task scheduling paper
    2026

    Priority-Based Multi-Task Scheduling for Shared Micro-Mobility Systems

    Zhang Y., Zhu S., Chen Y., Li P., Feng J., Li R., Liu X., Gan M., Yang S., Chen N., Ai R. Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies, 190: 105796.

    DOI Shared micro-mobility
  27. First page of air-ground multimodal transport paper
    2026

    Air-Ground Multimodal Transport Planning for Joint Passenger Mobility and Parcel Delivery: Integration of Drones, Aircraft, and Ground Vehicles

    Zhang Y., Yang C., Xi H., Peng S., Yang J., Gan M., Liu X., Ai R. Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, 210: 104825.

    DOI Air-ground logistics
  28. First page of spatiotemporal traffic demand graph features paper
    2026

    Integrated Prediction Model of Spatiotemporal Traffic Demand Considering Graph Features (考虑图特征的时空交通需求集成预测模型)

    You X., Gan M., Zhang Y., Cai X., Cheng J. Journal of Transportation Engineering and Information, online first.

    DOI Traffic demand prediction
  29. First page of intermodal coopetition review paper
    2026

    Review of Intermodal Transport Coopetition Methods with Multi-Agent Participation (面向多主体参与的多式联运竞合方法研究综述)

    Gan M., Tan X., Luo X., Zhang Y., Zhu S., Ding W., Liu X., Ma L. Journal of Transportation Engineering and Information, online first.

    DOI Intermodal coopetition

For the most current citation record, please see Google Scholar.

Funding and Projects

  1. Dynamic Collaborative Optimization of Intermodal Transport Planning under Time Uncertainty across Rail-Road-Water Networks

    Role: Principal Investigator. Period: 2025.01 - 2027.12.

    National Natural Science Foundation of China Youth Project

  2. Intelligent Transport Organization Optimization for Intermodal Transport

    Role: Principal Investigator. Period: 2025.01 - 2027.12.

    Sichuan Tianfu Emei Young Talent Program

  3. Smart Operation Organization for Railway Freight Hubs under Rail-Road-Water Coordination

    Role: Principal Investigator. Period: 2026.01 - 2028.12.

    National Key R&D Program sub-project Large railway freight hub intelligent operation technology

  4. Multimodal Railway Transport Operation Organization and Optimization for the Whole Logistics Chain

    Role: Principal Investigator. Period: 2026.01 - 2029.12.

    NSFC Joint Fund Key Project topic Railway logistics cost reduction and efficiency improvement

  5. Multi-Agent Collaborative Transport Organization on Stochastic Time-Varying Intermodal Networks in Sichuan's Four Directions and Eight Corridors

    Role: Principal Investigator. Period: 2025.01 - 2026.12.

    Sichuan Natural Science Foundation Youth Project

  6. Dynamic Optimization of Tangshan Port Intermodal Transport Planning under Rail-Road-Water Network Time Uncertainty

    Role: Principal Investigator. Period: 2024.01 - 2026.12.

    Hebei Natural Science Foundation Youth Project

  7. Multi-Decision-Maker Multi-Objective Distributed Collaborative Optimization for Intermodal Transport

    Role: Principal Investigator. Period: 2025.01 - 2027.12.

    Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities

  8. Theories and Methods for Railway Logistics Cost Reduction and Efficiency Improvement

    Role: Participant. Period: 2026.01 - 2029.12. Project lead: Xiaobo Liu.

    NSFC Joint Fund Key Project

  9. Seamless Shared Urban Mobility

    Role: Participant. Period: 2023.06 - 2026.06. Project lead: Oded Cats.

    European Horizon 2020 Website

  10. Novel Inland Waterway Transport Concepts for Moving Freight Effectively

    Role: Participant. Period: 2020.01 - 2024.07. Project lead: Rudy R. Negenborn.

    European Horizon 2020 Website

  11. Complexity Methods for Predictive Synchromodality

    Role: Participant. Period: 2019.09 - 2022.09. Project lead: R. D. van der Mei.

    Dutch Research Council (NWO) Website

  12. Key Technologies for Resilience Improvement of Road-Rail Transport Corridors in the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle

    Role: Participant. Period: 2025.01 - 2027.12. Project lead: Xiaobo Liu.

    Sichuan Science and Technology Program "Pianji" Project

  13. Semantic Spatial Modeling of Port Water Traffic Situation

    Role: Participant. Period: 2017.01 - 2020.12. Project lead: Yuanqiao Wen.

    National Natural Science Foundation of China General Program

Honors, Intellectual Property, and Service

Selected Honors

  • Sichuan Tianfu Emei Program Young Talent, 2025.
  • Best Academic Paper Award, 103rd Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting, 2024. Certificate
  • Young Talent Faculty, Southwest Jiaotong University, 2024.
  • Best Session Paper, 2nd Asian Conference on Artificial Intelligence Technology, 2018.

Intellectual Property

  • 8 national invention patents applied or granted.
  • 2 software copyrights, including an emergency-logistics multimodal dynamic routing optimization system.
  • Recent topics include low-altitude ground coordination, collaborative port optimization, and UAV-integrated emergency logistics.

Academic Service

NSFC proposal reviewer, Ministry of Education graduate thesis reviewer, and young member of the Transportation Planning Division of the World Transport Convention.

Journal Reviewing

Reviewer for Transportation Research Part B/C/E, IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems, Scientific Reports, Transportation, npj Sustainable Mobility and Transport, OR Spectrum, and related journals.

Teaching and Students

Courses

  • Intelligent Logistics System
  • Data Science
  • Frontiers in Logistics
  • Analysis and Optimization in Logistics Systems
  • Planning and Operating Public Transport Systems

Student Topics

  • Resilient intermodal transport planning
  • Federated learning for collaborative synchromodal transport
  • Shared micro-mobility scheduling and rebalancing
  • Container-terminal strategies with reinforcement learning

Several master's positions are typically available each year. Prospective students can check the admissions information page.

Contact

Email: yimengzhang@swjtu.edu.cn

School of Transportation and Logistics, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.