BIGS²: Berlin Interdisciplinary Graduate School for Self-Coordinating Road Traffic
BIGS² is an interdisciplinary graduate school established in a cooperative effort of the Institutes of Geography, Computer Science and Psychology of Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. The PhD topics in the graduate school address the field of coordinated route choices in individual transport - that is, the question how cooperation of navigation devices in cars can improve the route choice patterns, thereby contributing to a better utilization of the road network, reduced travel times, and more efficient resource usage. This raises questions in traffic geography (for instance, on the interdependencies between traffic demand, information availability, travel context and the resulting changes in mobility patterns), computer science (e.g., how to obtain and distribute the information, or how to algorithmically determine good route choices based on available data), and psychology (including the human drivers' acceptance of route assignments and appropriate incentive systems). These questions are tightly intertwined; nevertheless they have, so far, been considered mostly in isolation in the respective disciplines. However, systems with such tightly interrelated questions on both technology and human behavior become more and more common in today's increasingly networked world: only a holistic view of the technological basis and its application domain promises practically viable solutions. With the PhD projects in this graduate school we aim to foster such an integral perspective.
Each PhD project will be assigned to one of the participating subjects according to their topical focus and the PhD candidate's background and experience. Nevertheless, each PhD project will be guided by advisors from all three disciplines. This will allow for a supervision with a broad methodical horizon, opening the view beyond the individual core discipline.
Currently we have three PhD fellowships in BIGS² to be awarded (call for applications), one in each of the three participating subjects. Applications are accepted until May 18, 2014.
The participating professors and advisors of the planned PhD projects are:
- Prof. Dr. Barbara Lenz, Institute of Geography and DLR Institute for Transport Research
- Prof. Dr. Elke van der Meer, Institute of Psychology
- Prof. Dr. Björn Scheuermann, Institute of Computer Science (speaker)
- Prof. Dr. Hartmut Wandke, Institute of Psychology