François Dion
François Dion is an assistant research scientist and lead researcher in UMTRI's Transportation Systems Group-Office of ITS Integration. He is responsible for projects related to intelligent transportation systems (ITS) and vehicle-infrastructure integration (VII). His research interests include information technology applications to transportation, advanced traffic signal control systems, integrated control of transit and traffic operations, traveler information systems, and modeling driver behavior, traffic simulation, vehicle fuel consumption, and pollutant emissions.
Prior to joining UMTRI, Dr. Dion was an assistant professor at Michigan State University, teaching transportation engineering, transportation policies, ITS, transportation and the environment, and simulation and optimization of urban transportation networks. He created a microscopic traffic simulation model for ITS applications combining modeling of vehicle-to-infrastructure and vehicle-to-vehicle communications, evaluated the impacts of wireless communication delays on the performance of automated vehicle control systems, developed a vehicle control model considering potential delays in wireless communications, and developed a methodology to assess the potential benefits of transit signal priority deployments along urban arterials.
Dr. Dion also worked for the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) conducting research on real-time traffic signal control systems, transit signal preemption systems, real-time transportation data collection systems, modeling and simulation of urban transportation networks, and modeling of vehicle fuel consumption and emissions. He also occasionally taught transportation engineering classes for Virginia Tech's Charles Edward Via, Jr. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Dr. Dion possesses a Ph.D. in civil engineering from the University of Waterloo, and an M.A.Sc. and a B.Eng. in civil engineering (transportation) from the École Polytechnique in Montréal. He is a licensed professional engineer in both Michigan and Québec, and a member of the Transportation Research Board, the Institute of Transportation Engineers, the American Society of Engineering Education, and the Chi Epsilon Honor Society.
