Dr. Ed McCormack

• Freight Mobility in Urban Areas
• Transportation Technology Evaluation
• Freight Systems Performance Measurement

Dr. Ed McCormack’s research program is broadly around the theme of the use of technology to improve mobility for people and goods. Improved data storage, wireless communications, and faster computers have created new streams of high quality transportation information. This information allows operators and the public to be more strategic and efficient about using our transportation system but also requires new thinking and innovative approaches. Given the belief in our society that technology can solve many problems, one challenge that he frequently addresses in his research is elemental: what works? For example, his research has evaluated the application and usability of different in-vehicle tracking technologies and of freight-oriented traveler information systems.

A second topic of importance is his recent research—derived from his interest in technology—that explores the development of quantitative tools that can use streaming data. Many of his projects have used these data to create performance measures that allow the monitoring of vehicle travel activity and the calculation of metrics that support engineering and planning decisions.

He has increasingly focused on freight mobility. Despite freight’s obvious importance to our society, this area of transportation has traditionally been understudied by academics, particularly in comparison to people transportation. As a researcher, he has found that there are opportunities to provide innovative insights in this area.

• Insights from Driver Parking Decisions in a Truck Simulator to Inform Curb Management Decisions (2023)
• Supporting Comprehensive Urban Freight Planning by Mapping Private Load and Unload Facilities (2023)
• Evaluation of Bicyclist Physiological Response and Visual Attention in Commercial Vehicle Loading Zones (2023)
• Developing Better Curb Management Strategies through Understanding Commercial Vehicle Driver Parking Behavior in a Simulated Environment (2023)
• Estimating Intermodal Transfer Barriers to Light Rail using Smartcard Data in Seattle, WA (2022)
• Final Report: Technology Integration to Gain Commercial Efficiency for the Urban Goods Delivery System, Meet Future Demand for City Passenger and Delivery Load/Unload Spaces, and Reduce Energy Consumption (2022)
• Field Test of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) to Support Avalanche Monitoring (2022)
• Managing Increasing Demand for Curb Space in the City of the Future (2022)
• Site-Specific Transportation Demand Management: Case of Seattle’s Transportation Management Program, 1988–2015 (2021)
• Survey on the Bike Commute Environment among Seattle Area Bike Planners and Advocates (2020)
• The Automated Driver as a New Road User (2020)
• The Impact of Commercial Parking Utilization on Cyclist Behavior in Urban Environments (2020)
• Developing Design Guidelines for Commercial Vehicle Envelopes on Urban Streets (Technical Report) (2020)
• Developing Design Guidelines for Commercial Vehicle Envelopes on Urban Streets (Paper) (2019)
• Measuring Delivery Route Cost Trade-Offs Between Electric-Assist Cargo Bicycles and Delivery Trucks in Dense Urban Areas (2019)

• Faculty Appreciation for Career Education & Training (FACET) Award for mentoring of students (2020)

• Ph.D., Geography, University of Washington (1997)
  Dissertation: A Chained-Based Exploration of Work Travel by Residents of Mixed Land-Use Neighborhoods
• M.S., Civil Engineering, University of Washington (1985)
  Thesis: An Examination of Transit’s Work-Share Using Census Journey–to-Work and Transit On-Board Survey Data
• B.S.E., Geography, University of Washington (1979)

Dr. Ed McCormack is an international leader in truck GPS data applications for freight performance measurement, and technology that facilitates truck flows along roadways and through border crossings and marine ports. He developed methods for the Washington State Department of Transportation and the Norwegian government to measure truck speed and reliability performance on highways and roads through the analysis of truck GPS data. He recently served as the Chief Engineer in the ITS section of the Norwegian Public Roads Administration.

He holds a PhD in Geography, MS in Civil Engineering, and a BA in Geography—all from the University of Washington. Before working at UW, he was an engineering consultant with David Evans and Associates and a transportation planner with both King County and the Puget Sound Regional Councils.

Dr. McCormack has worked on National Academy of Sciences Transportation Research Board (TRB) projects to identify and improve truck bottlenecks, incorporate smart growth principles into freight forecasting tools, and help public agencies obtain freight data and turn it into valuable information.

He is an independent evaluator for U.S. Department of Transportation freight technology projects, including those addressing truck queuing and congestion. He is directs and teaches in the Sustainable Transportation Master’s degree program and Livable Communities certificate program.

• Sustainable Transportation from a Systems Perspective (CET 564)
• Traffic Systems Operations (CET 590)

• Professor (II), Department of Civil and Transport Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology
• Adjunct Research Associate Professor, Urban Design and Planning, University of Washington