Another Tippie College of Business researcher has received a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). 

Beste Basciftci’s research project will help transit agencies develop better transportation route plans. The $272,546 grant will help the assistant professor of business analytics research ways to improve the planning and operations of transit systems and emerging transportation systems that can offer multiple modes of transportation, such as buses, trains, and on-demand vehicle and sharing services such as taxis and Ubers. 

Much of Basciftci’s scholarship seeks to develop more effective public transit systems that will generate more ridership. She was honored for her work with a Tippie Social Impact Award this year. 

For this study, Basciftci’s research team will analyze rider behavior so planners can better respond to demand for these systems and allocate resources more efficiently and effectively. Her study will develop a framework to help transportation planners understand user behaviors, provide methods for learning their preferences, build decision-making approaches for dealing with uncertainties in network design and relevant planning problems, and develop efficient computational methods for their solution.

This collaborative grant with a total amount of $574,546 will be awarded over three years in collaboration with assistant professor Yiling Zhang from the University of Minnesota. 

This is the fifth NSF grant Tippie researchers have been awarded in the last three years. The other award-winners are:

-Yiduo Shao, assistant professor of management and entrepreneurship, received a $257,000 grant in 2024 to study improved methods of time management in the workplace. 

-Qihang Lin, associate professor of business analytics, received an $800,000 award from NSF and Amazon in 2022 to study how to make artificial intelligence algorithms less discriminatory. 

-Beth Livingston, associate professor of management and entrepreneurship, received a $100,000 grant in 2021 to study the impact of artificial intelligence on clerical jobs. 

-Kang Zhao, associate professor of business analytics, and Rong Su, associate professor of management and entrepreneurship, received a $288,000 grant in 2022 to study why men continue to publish more scientific papers despite increasing numbers of women scientists. 

Media contact: Tom Snee, 319-384-0010 (o); 319-541-8434 (c); tom-snee@uiowa.edu