PhD scholarship in Optimization Frameworks for Integrating Efficiency and Equity in Transportation Planning

The Transport Division of the Department of Technology, Management and Economics (DTU Management) at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) invites applications for a 3-year PhD position to work at the intersection of transportation science, operations research, and transport economics.

The PhD position is part of a strategic collaboration between the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) and Cornell University. It offers you the opportunity to begin your career as a researcher and scientist, deepen your knowledge and skills across several disciplines, and gain exposure to an international network of researchers.

As part of the PhD, you will address the critical challenge of incorporating considerations beyond efficiency (e.g., fairness and equity) in urban transportation planning. A key focus will be on societal considerations and the tradeoff between efficiency and equity in both resource allocation and taxation (e.g., road pricing). This will involve the development of novel optimization frameworks that adopt an interdisciplinary approach, integrating concepts from operations research, transport modeling, welfare economics, transport justice and machine learning.

You will be based at DTU (located in Copenhagen) and receive your PhD from DTU, while visiting Cornell University for a fully funded one semester research stay. You will work under the supervision of Associate Professor Ravi Seshadri (DTU Management), Associate Professor Samitha Samaranayake (Cornell University), and Deputy head-of-division Ninette Pilegaard (DTU Management). The supervision team is interdisciplinary with expertise in transportation science, operations research and applied mathematics, and economics.

Responsibilities And Qualifications
As a PhD student, your overall focus will be to advance the state-of-the-art in incorporating considerations beyond efficiency in urban transportation planning to improve societal outcomes while fostering collaboration with Cornell University.

Your Primary Tasks Will Be To

• Familiarize yourself with relevant research in the fields of transport planning/modeling, welfare economics, operations research and take advanced courses at DTU that deepen your knowledge in these areas
• Develop optimization frameworks for policy design in urban transportation planning that explicitly incorporate societal considerations with a focus on inequity aversion of the social planner
• Apply these frameworks to develop specific formulations and solution algorithms for the design of congestion pricing schemes using classical transport models and quantify the equity-efficiency trade-offs for congestion pricing
• Assess the policy designs through large-scale transport models
• Write academic articles aimed at impactful journals
• Participate in international conferences and workshops
• Disseminate research findings and support teaching as part of the overall PhD education

The Ideal Candidate Will Have

• A background in either transportation science/engineering, operations research, economics, applied mathematics or related field
• Strong programming skills in python, C, C++ or other similar programming languages
• Strong communication skills in English, both oral and written
• The ability to work both independently and collaboratively within a team of researchers
• A strong motivation to address societal impacts of transportation planning such as inequity

You must have a two-year master's degree (120 ECTS points) or a similar degree with an academic level equivalent to a two-year master's degree.

Approval and Enrolment
The scholarship for the PhD degree is subject to academic approval, and the candidate will be enrolled in one of the general degree programmes at DTU. For information about our enrolment requirements and the general planning of the PhD study programme, please see DTU's rules for the PhD education.

We offer
DTU is a leading technical university globally recognized for the excellence of its research, education, innovation and scientific advice. We offer a rewarding and challenging job in an international environment. We strive for academic excellence in an environment characterized by collegial respect and academic freedom tempered by responsibility.

Salary and appointment terms
The appointment will be based on the collective agreement with the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations. The allowance will be agreed upon with the relevant union.

The period of employment is 3 years. The proposed starting date is 1 February 2026 or according to mutual agreement. The position is a full-time position.

You can read more about career paths at DTU here.

Further information
Further information may be obtained from Ravi Seshadri at

You can read more about DTU Management at

If you are applying from abroad, you may find useful information on working in Denmark and at DTU at DTU – Moving to Denmark. Furthermore, you have the option of joining our monthly free seminar "PhD relocation to Denmark and startup "Zoom" seminar" for all questions regarding the practical matters of moving to Denmark and working as a PhD at DTU.

Application procedure
Your complete online application must be submitted no later than
31 October :59 Danish time)
. Applications must be submitted as
one PDF file
containing all materials to be given consideration. To apply, please open the link "Apply now", fill out the online application form, and attach
all your materials in English in one PDF file
. The file must include:

• A letter motivating the application (cover letter)
• Curriculum vitae
• Grade transcripts and BSc/MSc diploma (in English) including official description of grading scale
• List of publications (if any)

You may apply prior to ob­tai­ning your master's degree but cannot begin before having received it.

Applications received after the deadline will not be considered.

All interested candidates irrespective of age, gender, disability, race, religion or ethnic background are encouraged to apply. As DTU works with research in critical technology, which is subject to special rules for security and export control, open-source background checks may be conducted on qualified candidates for the position.

DTU Management
DTU Management conducts high-level research and teaching with a focus on sustainability, transport, innovation and management science. Our goal is to create knowledge on the societal aspects of technology - including the interaction between technology and sustainability, business growth, infrastructure and prosperity. Therefore, we explore and create value in the areas of management science, innovation and design thinking, business analytics, systems and risk analyses, human behaviour, regulation and policy analysis. The department offers teaching from introductory to advanced courses/projects at BSc, MSc and PhD level. The department has 200+ employees with around half of staff coming from abroad. Read more
here
.
Technology for people
DTU develops technology for people. With our international elite research and study programmes, we are helping to create a better world and to solve the global challenges formulated in the UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Hans Christian Ørsted founded DTU in 1829 with a clear mission to develop and create value using science and engineering to benefit society. That mission lives on today. DTU has 13,500 students and 6,000 employees. We work in an international atmosphere and have an inclusive, evolving, and informal working environment. DTU has campuses in all parts of Denmark and in Greenland, and we collaborate with the best universities around the world.