Team

Karel Martens is currently the dean of the Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology (Haifa, Israel), a Professor of Transport Planning and the head of the Fair Transport Lab. He holds a bachelor and master degree in Spatial Planning (1986; 1991) and a PhD in Policy Sciences (2000), all from Radboud University (Nijmegen, the Netherlands). He is an international expert on transport and justice. He has authored numerous publications on the topic, culminating in his book Transport Justice: Designing Fair Transportation Systems, which has been described by colleagues as “ground-breaking”, “a landmark” and “a revolution”. His work has resonated in the research community as well as in practice, as evidenced by numerous invitations for keynote and public lectures, among others in Belgium, Canada, Germany, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, South-Africa, and Sweden. In 2014, Martens was elected Transport Professional of the Year in the Netherlands, in part because of his inspiring work on transport and justice. In 2025 he was made dean of the Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. Continue Reading Karel Martens

Alessandro Piazza is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Fair Transport Lab. Alessandro has a diploma in architecture and urban planning from the Politecnico di Torino and has earned his PhD from the Politecnico di Milano as a member of “META – Social Sciences and Humanities for Science and Technology”. His dissertation focused on better understanding the sociotechnical dynamics of sustainable transitions. By leveraging the insights of ethnographic research, he argued that achieving a sustainable transition depends upon establishing governance systems that are responsive to the evolving moral perceptions around technological innovation. Within the Fair Transport Lab, Alessandro will undertake an investigation into the conceptualization of transportation justice through the lens of relational equality. From this perspective, justice extends beyond a focus on equitable outcomes, to encompass just processes, relationships, and power structures. Continue Reading Alessandro Piazza

Zhengrong Li holds a Bachelor's degree in Traffic Engineering from Huaiyin Institute of Technology, Huaian, China, and a Master's degree in Traffic Engineering from Fujian University of Technology, Fuzhou, China. He has a background in using data-driven models to address traffic flow problems and optimize signal control systems, including predicting OD demand, detecting traffic congestion, and predicting traffic flow. His experience helped him with adept coding skills in Python and MATLAB and the ability to extract valuable information from different traffic data. He is pursuing his Ph.D. research, which aims to identify people's mobility problems from their travel behavior and establish a method to measure the risk of mobility problems through GPS data. Continue Reading Zhengrong Li

Wambui holds a BA in Political Science and Sociology from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa, Nairobi Kenya and a Master of Public Policy and Management from Strathmore University, Nairobi, Kenya. Wambui also holds a Diploma in Public Management from the University of Chile in Santiago, Chile. She has previously worked at Strathmore University as a teaching fellow and is now a doctoral candidate at the Fair Transport Lab at the Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning, Technion. Her Phd research explores financing models of transport services and infrastructure, as well as pricing implications of these models for users of distinct socio-economic backgrounds. Continue Reading Wambui Kariuki

Omer holds a B.A. in Philosophy from the Open University of Israel (with honors) and a B.Sc. in Medicine from the Technion IIT. He joined the lab as part of the Technion MD-PhD program. He obtained his first research experience when working in the lab of Maayan Agmon at the University of Haifa, where he studied the relationship between aging and posture. In his PhD, Omer will explore the links between older adults' mobility, transport modalities and health, with an emphasis on cessation behaviors – when, how and why older adults stop using public transport. Continue Reading Omer Dilian

Ilana is a transportation planner with nearly a decade of professional experience in both the private and public sectors. She holds a BA in History and Land of Israel Studies, focusing on Geography, and an MA in Historical Geography and Urban & Regional Planning, from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Her MA thesis, titled “Crusader Traces in Underground Jerusalem: Remnants of the First Kingdom of Jerusalem in Today’s Landscape,” reflects her deep interest in the intersection of history and urban form. Ilana joined the Lab after completing the first academic public transport planning program at the Technion's Continuing Education division. Currently pursuing her PhD, she is working to develop a survey tool to assess the prevalence and severity of transportation-related issues, focusing on individual travel challenges within a selected region. Continue Reading Ilana Har-Tal

Chebe Polycap is a PhD student at the Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. Chebe holds a Bsc. and Msc. in Geography from the University of Yaounde I and a Professional Master’s Degree in International Cooperation, Humanitarian Action and Sustainable Development from the International Relations Institute of Cameroon (IRIC). Chebe has taught Geography in many secondary schools in Yaounde (Cameroon) at the secondary and high school levels for over nine years. He has assisted many candidates to succeed their GCE Ordinary and Advanced levels in flying colours over the years. As a PhD fellow in the Fair Transport Lab, Chebe’s research is on ‘Road designs and walking patterns in urban areas of the Global South’. His critical focus is on how different road designs in urban areas influence walking patterns. Continue Reading Chebe Polycap

Avital holds a BA (Cum Laude) and MA in Applied Geography from Haifa university. Her master’s thesis focused on detection and mapping of temporal changes in land use and land cover in the north of Israel by methods of remote sensing and GIS. Over the years, she has been involved in various social campaigns, the most recent of which was the (unsuccessful) campaign to overturn the decision to delay (and effectively cancel) the construction of Achituv train station along the new Eastern Railway currently being constructed, thus denying a potential 100,000 users of improved public transportation. Her Phd research explores the ways in which rural teenagers in Israel cope with mobility challenges. Continue Reading Avital Arbel

Michal joined the Lab as a master’s student in the Urban and Regional Planning program at the Technion, after completing her BA in Philosophy, Economics and Political Science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Her master thesis explored how spatial characteristics of public spaces can answer the unique needs of urban teenagers and promote their wellbeing. Continue Reading Mihal Reichhardt