Nan

Complex transport systems couple physical dynamics, human decisions, and network operations. Developing intelligent autonomy requires AI methods that account for engineering constraints, behavioural differences, and operational interdependencies. This talk presents our group's research on applying AI across autonomous vehicles, industrial fleets, and urban networks, organised around three directions:

• Physics-Informed AI — bridges language-based reasoning and physically feasible engineering decisions, using specialist agents, physical models, and simulation feedback for traffic management and planning.

• Human–AI Interaction — leverages VR-enabled simulation to investigate risk perception, trust misalignment, and takeover dynamics, comparing LLM-simulated responses against empirical human evidence.

• Field Operations — addresses cooperative planning in mining and logistics, focusing on fleet coordination, ground–air collaboration, and cross-site knowledge transfer under heterogeneous environments.

Our vision is to bring together physical modelling, human behavioural evidence, and operational evaluation for evaluating AI methods and advancing trustworthy autonomy in transport and alike operation systems.

Biography:

Dr. Nan ZHENG is an Associate Professor in Transport Engineering, Monash University, Assistant to the Dean (Transnational Education), and Director of International Affairs at Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. He directs the Monash Research Centre for Automated Resilient Road Systems (MARRS), where his research integrates physics-informed AI, multi-agent systems, VR digital twins, and human-in-the-loop validation for safe autonomous mobility. Spanning a 20-year global trajectory across Asia, Europe, and Oceania, Dr. ZHENG has published over 100 high-impact journal articles, and accumulated nearly 5,000 citations. He has led major international research and industrial hubs securing over AUD $1.4 million in competitive R&D grants and generating AUD $2 million in commercialized field operations across autonomous vehicle, industrial mining, and low-altitude logistics sectors. Dr. ZHENG serves on the editorial boards of top journals including Transportation Research Part C, Accident Analysis & Prevention, and IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Vehicles.

Email:

Address:Duxue Road No.1, Dongchong Town, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, 511453