People and Research

Dr. Lister is a research associate and associate director of the Centre for Transportation Studies. She holds a PhD in resource management (UBC), an MBA in corporate strategy (Sauder), and an Honours BA in economics and environmental studies (University of Toronto).  Her research examines questions regarding the business case for sustainability and the role of private standards in maritime transportation environmental governance. She is the author of several books and many articles on the business and politics of corporate social responsibility.

Selected publications:

Ashrafi, M., Lister, J. and Gillen, D. (2022) Toward a Harmonization of Sustainability Criteria for Alternative Marine Fuels. Marine Transport Research 3 100052.

Alger, J., Lister, J. and Dauvergne, P. (2021) Corporate Governance and the Environmental Politics of Shipping. Global Governance. 27: 144-166.

Bennet, N., et al. (2019) Towards a Sustainable and Equitable Blue Economy. Nature Sustainability. 

Lister, Jane (2018) The Policy Role of Corporate Carbon Management: Co-regulating Ecological Effectiveness.  Journal: Global Policy 9(4), 538-548

LeBaron, G., Lister, J., Dauvergne, P. (2017) “Governing global supply chain sustainability through the ethical audit regime” Globalizations, 1-18

Dr. Yan is an Assistant Professor in Operations and Logistics.
She holds a PhD from the Operations Research Center at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her research focuses on data-driven optimization with applications in urban mobility.
 

Selected Publications

Yan, J., Martin, S., and Taylor, S.J. (2024) Trading flexibility for adoption: From dynamic to static walking in ridesharing. To appear in Management Science. 

Bertsimas, D., Ng, Y.S., and Yan, J. (2021) Data-driven transit network design at scale. Operations Research 69(4), 1118-1133.

Bertsimas, D., Ng, Y.S., and Yan, J. (2020) Joint frequency-setting and pricing optimization for multi-modal transit networks at scale. Transportation Science 54(3), 839-853.

Bertsimas, D., and Yan, J. (2018). From physical properties of transportation flows to demand estimation: An optimization approach. Transportation Science 52(4), 1002-1011. 

Dr. Heaver is an Emeritus Professor and former Director of CTS (1984-1998). Dr. Heaver is widely recognized in the field of transport economics and logistics and is the 2015 recipient of the Onassis Prize in international finance, trade and shipping. He is the author of twelve books and monographs and over one hundred articles. He was a founding member of the World Conference on Transport Research and of the International Association of Maritime Economists.

Selected publications:

"Tackling Bulk Emissions at Anchor" Lloyd’s List, 20 July, 2020.

“Crisis and Innovation in Bulk Shipping,” Lloyd’s List, 22 April, 2020, pp.4, online.

“The Response of Liner Shipping Companies to the Evolution of Global Supply Chain Management,” in Maritime Economics and Business, 2nd edition, editor, Costas Grammenos, (London, Lloyds of London Press, 2010) pp. 457-477.

“Coordination in Multi-Actor Logistics Operations: Challenges at the Port Interface,” in Integrating Seaports and Trade Corridors. Eds. P. Hall, R. McCalla, C. Comtois  and B. Slack (Farnham, Ashgate Publishing, 2011) pp.155-170

Dr. Zhang is a professor of operations and logistics and holds the Vancouver International Airport Authority Chair Professor in Air Transportation. His expertise is in transportation economics and policy, air cargo logistics and industrial organization. He has published over 100 refereed journal papers in the areas of transportation, logistics, industrial organization and trade policy. His books include: Globalization and Strategic Alliances: The Case of the Airline Industry, (2000, Pergamon Press, Oxford); and Air Cargo in Mainland China and Hong Kong (2004, Ashgate, London) (Chinese editions published both in Hong Kong and Mainland China). Dr. Zhang has been a consultant to organizations in Hong Kong, Mainland China, Korea, Japan, Germany, New Zealand, U.S. and Canada. He is a co-author with David Gillen and other Sauder professors of the 2005 Transport Canada report: Towards Estimating the Social and Environmental Costs of Transportation in Canada. His current SSHRC-funded research is investigating the impacts of climate change on port infrastructure investment.

Selected publications:

Li, H., K. Yu, K. Wang and A. Zhang (2019), “Market power and its determinants in the Chinese railway industry,” Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice 120, 261-276.

Shao, J., H. Yang and A. Zhang (2019), “Adoption of electric vehicles: Manufacturers’ incentive and government policy,” Journal of Transport Economics and Policy 53(2), 175-198.

Balliauw, M., P. Kort and A. Zhang (2019), “Capacity investment decisions of two competing ports under uncertainty: A strategic real options approach,” Transportation Research Part B: Methodological 122, 249-264.

Dr. Lindsey is a professor of operations and logistics and the CN Chair in Transportation and Logistics. His main area of research is transportation economics. His work has focused on traffic congestion, road pricing, financing roads and other transportation infrastructure, urban public transportation and advanced traveler information systems.

Selected publications:

de Palma, A., R. Lindsey, “Tradable permit schemes for controlling traffic congestion with variable capacity and demand”, Economics of Transportation, forthcoming. Paper

Inan, M., E. Inci and R. Lindsey, “Spillover parking”, Transportation Research Part B: Methodological 125, 2019, 197-228. 
Paper

Lindsey, R., A. de Palma and H. Silva, “Equilibrium in the bottleneck model with atomic and non-atomic usersˮ, Transportation Research Part B: Methodological 124, 2019, 82-107. Paper

Professor Antweiler's research is predominantly empirical and spans topics that include environmental and energy economics, transportation issues, and public policy. His most recent research focuses on the cross-border trade in electricity, the economics of grid-scale electricity storage, congestion pricing, and climate change. Professor Antweiler is also a frequent commentator on business topics and public policy issues. Professor Antweiler teaches graduate and undergraduate courses on environmental economics and policy, as well as international business. He is the author of a textbook on Environmental Management.
 

Selected publications:

 "A Two-Part Feed-in-Tariff for Intermittent Electricity Generation", Energy Economics 65, June 2017, pp. 458-470, DOI: 10.1016/j.eneco.2017.05.010.

Werner Antweiler (January 2017). "Emission Trading for Air Pollution Hot Spots: Getting the Permit Market Right".  Environmental Economics and Policy Studies 19(1), 35-38.

Werner Antweiler (July 2016).  "Cross-Border Trade in Electricity".  Journal of International Economics 101, 42-51

Dr. Tae Oum is the UPS Foundation Chair Professor at Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia, Chairman of the Air Transport Research Society (ATRS). He is the Editor-in-Chief, Transport Policy (WCTR Society and Elsevier Science joint journal) since 1st August, 2016. He serves on Editorial Boards of twelve international journals as well as served as an Editor of Journal of Transport Economics and Policy for 13 years (1998-2011). His research and teaching interests are in the areas of economics, management and policy analysis in transport/logistics and public utility sectors.
 

Selected publications:

Xiao, Y., Fu, X., Oum, T.H. and Yan, J. (2017), “Modeling Airport Capacity Choice with Real Options”, Transportation Research - Part B (Methodology), vol. 100, 93-114.

Yan, J, Fu, X, Oum, TH, and Wang, K, 2018, “Airline Horizontal Mergers and Productivity: Empirical Evidence from a Quasi-Natural Experiment in China”,  International J. of Industrial Organization (IJIO), vol. 51, pp.1-19.

Liu, S. and Oum, T.H. (2018), “Prospects for air policy liberalization in China as a Result of China-ASEAN Open Skies,” an invited research paper, Transport Policy, 72, A1-A9. 

Dr. Randrianarisoa is a former postdoctoral Research Fellow of the Centre for Transportation Studies. She now holds a position as Assistant Professor, Operations Management, Kedge Business School. She completed a Ph.D. in economics (Laval University) in 2016, with a specialization in transportation economics, applied econometrics, and environmental economics. Her research has focused on strategic decision-making of airports and the role of ground access conditions, non-aeronautical activities and pre-boarding security procedures. She has also worked on a SSHRC-funded project with Prof. Anming Zhang on the adaptation to climate change for transport infrastructures.
 

Publications: View Link

Dr. Alger is a former postdoctoral fellow at the Centre for Transportation Studies and at The Lind Initiative for US Studies at UBC. He is now assistant professor/lecturer in political science at the University of Melbourne. He holds a PhD in political science (UBC), with a specialization in global environmental politics. His work focuses on the political economy of marine conservation, examining the relationship between marine resource use and government policy. He was involved in coordinating research activities for CTS’s Green Shipping Project and continues to be involved as a research partner and member of the executive steering committee.
 

Publications: View link. 

Dr. Ashrafi is a former postdoctoral research fellow with the Centre for Transportation Studies at UBC Sauder School of Business. She is now air quality and climate specialist with the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority. She holds a Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Studies in maritime ports sustainability (Dalhousie). She was overseeing research coordination and knowledge mobilization for UBC’s International Green Shipping Partnership Network and participated in a Mitacs research fellowship on alternative fuels with Teekay Shipping.
 

Publications: View Link

It is my very sad duty to report that our great friend and former colleague, Professor Emeritus Bill Waters, passed away November 25th, 2010. Bill died peacefully in his study. Bill joined the Faculty of Commerce and Business Administration (now the Sauder School of Business) in 1969. He was an extremely accomplished transportation economist who was widely published and frequently consulted by governments on matters related to transportation policy. At Sauder, he was the Director of the Centre for Transportation Studies from January 1998 to December 2000 and from July 2002 to June 2003. 

Michele Acciaro is Associate Professor of Maritime Logistics at Kühne Logistics University (KLU). Between 2013 and 2015 he worked for the same institution as Assistant Professor. He was Head of the Logistics Department of the KLU in 2016 and 2017. For two years before joining the KLU he held the position of Senior Researcher Green Shipping at the Research and Innovation department of Det Norske Veritas AS (now DNV-GL) in Høvik, near Oslo. Between 2004 and 2010 he worked as deputy director and researcher at the Center for Maritime Economics and Logistics (MEL)/Erasmus SmartPort of Erasmus University Rotterdam, with which he is still associated.

Dr. Acciaro holds a BSc and a MSc (cum Laude) in Statistics and Economics from the University of Rome “La Sapienza”; a MSc in Maritime Economics and Logistics from Erasmus University Rotterdam for which he was awarded the NOL/APL Prize for Student Excellence; and a PhD in Logistics also from Erasmus University Rotterdam. Dr. Acciaro was awarded the Young Researcher Best Paper Prize at the IAME Annual Conference in Cyprus in 2005. Between 2015 and 2017 Dr. Acciaro was Associate Editor of Maritime Policy and Management. Since 2016 he is member of the Editorial Board of Maritime Economics and Logistics. He is the Editor of the IAME Newsletter and chaired the IAME annual conference in Hamburg in 2016.
 

Selected publications:

Nair, Abhishek and Michele Acciaro (2019): Alternative Fuels for Shipping: Optimising Fleet Composition Under Environmental and Economic Constraints, International Journal of Transport Economics, 45 (3): 439-460.

Ashrafi, Mehrnaz, Michele Acciaro, Tony R. Walker, Gregory M. Magnan and Michelle Adams (2019): Corporate sustainability in Canadian and US maritime ports, Journal of Cleaner Production, 220: 386-397.

Vanelslander, Thierry, Christa Sys, Lee Lamm, Jasmine Siu, Claudio Ferrari, Athena Roumboutsos, Michele Acciaro, Rosario Macário and Genevieve Giuliano (2019): A serving innovation typology: mapping port-related innovations, Transport Reviews, 39 (5): 611-629.

Stefan is PhD student at the Copenhagen Business School. He holds a BS in Business Administration and Philosophy and an MS in business Administration and Economics with a minor in in Finance and Strategy from CBS. He has worked for The Danish Ministry of Economics, Operational Private Equity, M&A, and his own IT start-up. While at CTS (June - December 2016), Stefan worked on a model for entrepreneurial value capturing in maritime markets

Ka Lai is a Master of Arts student at the UBC Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability (IRES) with research interest in international climate governance. She  is providing research assistance to the UBC green shipping partnership project. Prior to UBC, Ka Lai worked as a corporate sustainability and ESG practitioner for an international container shipping company.  She is a 2024 UBC Sustainability Scholar. Most recently, under the Scholars program she worked at C40 Cities to explore “Recommendations for catalyzing zero-emission maritime fuel adoption in British Columbia”.

Mr. Kun Wang is a former PhD student in Transportation and Logistics, Sauder School of Business. His research interests include emission mitigation in the international shipping sector, port adaptation to climate change related disasters, port competition and cooperation, airline competition, and high-speed rail (HSR) project cost and benefit evaluation. His research has been published on journals including Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Maritime Economics & Logistics, Journal of Transport Geography, Journal of Air Transport Management. Kun earned the “Killam Doctoral Scholarship”, the most prestigious doctoral fellowship in UBC. He also won the “Best Graduate Student Paper- 1st Place” at the US Transportation Research Forum (TRF) 58th Annual Meeting in Chicago, 2017.

Wenyi Xia was a PhD student in transportation and logistics at Sauder School of Business at UBC. Her field of specialization was transportation economics and policy evaluation. Her research interests included climate change adaptation for seaports, air-rail competition and integration, industrial organization, and decision-making under uncertainty. She won the Young Author Best Paper Prize at the 14th World Conference on Transportation Research (WCTR) in Shanghai, July 2016. She was awarded a Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarships (CGS) doctoral scholarship in April, 2017. Dr. Xia is now an Assistant Professor, in the Dept of Logistics & Operations Management, HEC Montreal.

Nargess Ovesy was MSc student at the Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia (UBC) with a focus on transportation and logistics. She specialized in transportation economics and operations, delving specifically into the economic aspects and operational efficiency of transportation systems. Nargess has a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering and has overall research interests in industrial organization, negotiation, and decision-making under uncertainty. She applied her expertise in these areas to analyze the transportation industry and its stakeholders, including the topics of negotiation and navigating pathways of complex decision-making processes in uncertain environments. Nargess worked as a research assistant in CTS under the supervision of Prof. David Gillen since Sep 2021 and is an active contributing member of the Green Shipping Project. Nargess is now a consultant with Deloitte, Vancouver.

Kaan Ciragil is a former BCom student that specialized in Operations & Logistics with a concentration in Sustainability. He has a special interest in aviation and shipping industries and innovation. Kaan worked as a part time Research Assistant with the CTS Green Shipping project.

Burak completed a Sauder BCom, specializing in Transportation & Logistics in 2017. He worked as a part-time Research Assistant with the CTS Green Shipping project (2017-2018). He is now with Pegasus Shipping in Turkey.