Dr. Gerard Soffian

Biography

Gerard Soffian is an adjunct faculty member at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering, specifically within the Department of Civil and Urban Engineering. His expertise lies in active transportation engineering, focusing on safety projects that incorporate adaptive traffic signals for pedestrians, including those who are blind or visually impaired. Soffian has had a distinguished career, formerly serving as the Deputy Commissioner for Traffic Operations with the New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT), where he oversaw a team of 1,400 professionals and managed a budget of $900 million dedicated to public safety and mobility. He was responsible for the management of over 12,400 traffic signals and the operation of the Traffic Management Center, which involves monitoring real-time traffic data. In addition to his work with NYCDOT, Soffian has held a position as an environmental engineer with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. His educational background includes a Bachelor's degree in Physics from CUNY Brooklyn College and a Master's degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Southern California. Soffian has authored numerous publications focusing on transportation policy and safety improvements, contributing to peer-reviewed journals as well as presenting at various transportation conferences.

Research Interests

Experience