I am Monika Filipovska, a Ph.D. Candidate in the Transportation Systems Analysis and Planning program at the department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Northwestern University. My research interests broadly fall in the areas of transportation network modeling, intelligent transportation systems, and connected and automated transportation technologies. My current dissertation research focuses on modeling travel time reliability in transportation networks and finding reliable paths and routing solutions with access to en-route information. A presentation of a paper from my dissertation research was recently awarded a best presentation award at the 2020 IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Transportation Systems.
Upon the completion of my Ph.D., I intend to pursue an academic career. I aspire to build a research program that will bring together stakeholders from academia, government institutions, and industry to serve as a catalyst for the transfer of innovative transportation solutions between research and practice. As an instructor, I aim to equip students with the understanding, skills, and confidence they will need as the next generation of professionals who will shape the future of our society. As an international scholar, originally from (North) Macedonia, the first of my family to attend university and study abroad, and a woman in STEM, I am acutely aware of the challenges of students and scholars who find themselves outside the dominant culture. An important component of my career goals is to advance and develop mentoring practices and programs to serve minoritized and disadvantaged populations, and specifically ones focused on the advancement and recognition of women in STEM. As part of the Chicago Women in STEM Initiative, I look forward to connecting with and learning from the women in this network, and I hope contribute to the Initiative to empower other women and bring awareness to the importance of advancing and recognizing women in STEM.