Aemal Khattak

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Aemal Khattak

Professor, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering Director, Mid-America Transportation Center (MATC), USDOT Region 7 University Transportation Center University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Contact

Address
330 E, WHT, 2200 Vine St
Lincoln, NE 68588-0855
Phone
402-472-8126 On-campus 2-8126
Email
khattak@unl.edu
Social Media

Professional and Community Involvement

Inaugural Editorial Board Member (Handling Editor), Transportation Research Record, Transportation Research Board, 2020–present.

Past Chair, Transportation Research Board Standing Committee on Highway/Rail Grade Crossings (AR080), 2015–2021.

Outreach and community engagement program management: 
1) MATC STEM Academy 
2) MATC Scholars Program 
3) MATC Roads, Rails, and Race Cars After-School Program
4) MATC Intern Program

Areas of Research and Professional Interest

  • Transportation Safety
  • Transportation Infrastructure Planning
  • Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS)
  • Community Outreach

Education

  • Ph.D. (Civil Engineering - Transportation), North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 1999
  • Master of Science in Civil Engineering (Transportation), Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 1995
  • Bachelor of Science (with honors) in Civil Engineering, University of Engineering and Technology, Peshawar, Pakistan, 1988

Honors and Awards

  • UNL College of Engineering Faculty Research and Creative Activity Award, 2024.
  • 2024 Best TRB Freeway Operations Committee Paper Award (Haque, MM, Camenzind, Jon, and Khattak, Aemal J. Safety and Operational Analysis of Free Right-Turn Ramps at Rural Intersections).
  • UNL College of Engineering Faculty Service Award, 2016. 
  • UNL University-Wide Distinguished Teaching Award, 2015. 

Selected Publications

  • Khattak, Aemal J., and MM Shakiul Haque. Investigation of motorist speeds and crashes in school zones for sustainable safety policy. Sustainability, Vol. 18, No. 9, Article 4517, May 2026 (https://doi.org/10.3390/su18094517).
  • Farooq, Muhammad U., Moomal Bukhari, Aemal J. Khattak, and Muhammad N. Aman. Investigating nonmotorist crash exposure at highway-rail grade crossings using artificial intelligence-based object detection and generalized linear count models. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, May 2026 (https://doi.org/10.1177/03611981261438024).
  • Lee, Myungwoo, and Aemal J. Khattak. Motor vehicle traffic diversion to alternate routes for improving safety at highway-rail grade crossings. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, October 2025 (https://doi.org/10.1177/03611981251370344).
  • Haque, MM Shakiul, Aemal J. Khattak, and Li Zhao. Modeling and operational performance evaluation of driveway assistance devices for lane closures on two-lane highway work zones. Journal of Transportation Engineering, Part A: Systems, Vol. 151, No. 3, March 2025 (https://doi.org/10.1061/JTEPBS.TEENG-8763).
  • Zhao, Li, Muhammad U. Farooq, and Aemal J. Khattak. Data accuracy matters: Improving highway-rail grade crossing crash predictions through inventory data verification. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, August 2024 (https://doi.org/10.1177/03611981241270179).
  • Haque, MM Shakiul, Jon Camenzind, and Aemal J. Khattak. Safety and operational analysis of free right-turn ramps at rural intersections. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, June 2024 (https://doi.org/10.1177/03611981241247049).
  • Walker, Curtis L., Aemal J. Khattak, Muhammad U. Farooq, John Cecava, and Mark R. Anderson. Investigation of winter weather crash injury severity using winter storm classification techniques. Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives, Vol. 24, Article 101073, March 2024 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trip.2024.101073).
  • Khattak, Aemal J., Muhammad U. Farooq, and Abdul Farhan. Motor vehicle drivers’ knowledge of safely traversing highway-rail grade crossings. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, November 2023 (https://doi.org/10.1177/03611981231208902).
  • Khattak, Aemal J., Harrison H. Redepenning, and MM Shakiul Haque. Risk assessment of hazardous materials transportation for small and tribal communities in Nebraska. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, July 2023 (https://doi.org/10.1177/03611981231184195).
  • Kang, Yashu, and Aemal J. Khattak. A deep learning model for crash injury severity analysis using Shapley Additive Explanation Values. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, June 2022 (https://doi.org/10.1177/03611981221095087).
  • Iranitalab, Amirfarrokh, Aemal J. Khattak, and George Bahouth. Statistical modeling of cargo tank truck crashes: Rollover and release of hazardous materials. Journal of Safety Research, Vol. 74, September 2020 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsr.2020.04.010).
  • Iranitalab, Amirfarrokh, and Aemal J. Khattak. Probabilistic classification of hazardous material release events in train incidents and cargo tank truck crashes. Reliability Engineering & System Safety, Vol. 199, Article 106914, July 2020 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ress.2020.106914).
  • Lee, Myungwoo, and Aemal J. Khattak. A case study of crash severity spatial pattern identification in hot spot analysis. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, Vol. 2673, No. 9, May 2019 (https://doi.org/10.1177/0361198119845367).
  • Iranitalab, Amirfarrokh, Aemal J. Khattak, and Eric Thompson. Statistical modeling of types and consequences of rail-based crude oil release incidents in the United States. Reliability Engineering & System Safety, Vol. 185, May 2019 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ress.2018.12.009).
  • Liu, Huiyuan, Myungwoo Lee, and Aemal J. Khattak. Updating Annual Average Daily Traffic estimates at highway-rail grade crossings with geographically weighted Poisson regression. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, May 2019 (https://doi.org/10.1177/0361198119844976).
  • Kang, Yashu, Amirfarrokh Iranitalab, and Aemal J. Khattak. Modeling railroad trespassing crash frequency using a mixed-effects negative binomial model. International Journal of Rail Transportation, November 2018 (https://doi.org/10.1080/23248378.2018.1550626).
  • Iranitalab, Amirfarrokh, and Aemal J. Khattak. Train-level and tank car-level modeling of hazardous materials release in railroad incidents. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, October 2018 (https://doi.org/10.1177/0361198118801337).
  • Zhao, Shanshan, and Aemal J. Khattak. Direct and indirect effects of Nebraska motor vehicle drivers’ characteristics on inattentive driving at highway-rail grade crossings. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, September 2018 (https://doi.org/10.1177/0361198118794067).
  • Wali, Behram, Asad J. Khattak, and Aemal J. Khattak. A heterogeneity based case-control analysis of motorcyclist’s injury crashes: Evidence from motorcycle crash causation study. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 119, July 2018 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2018.07.024).
  • Khan, Waleed A., and Aemal J. Khattak. Injury severity of truck drivers in crashes at highway-rail grade crossings in the United States. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, June 2018 (https://doi.org/10.1177/0361198118781183).
  • Iranitalab, Amirfarrokh, Yashu Kang, and Aemal J. Khattak. Modeling the probability of hazardous materials release in crashes at highway-rail grade crossings. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, June 2018 (https://doi.org/10.1177/0361198118780885).
  • Zhao, Shanshan, Amirfarrokh Iranitalab, and Aemal J. Khattak. A clustering approach to injury severity in pedestrian-train crashes at highway-rail grade crossings. Journal of Transportation Safety & Security, February 2018 (https://doi.org/10.1080/19439962.2018.1428257).
  • Zhao, Shanshan, and Aemal J. Khattak. Factors associated with self-reported inattentive driving at highway-rail grade crossings. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 109, October 2017 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2017.10.013).
  • Iranitalab, Amirfarrokh, and Aemal J. Khattak. Comparison of four statistical and machine learning methods for crash severity prediction. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 108, September 2017 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2017.08.008).
  • Zhao, Shanshan, and Aemal J. Khattak. Injury severity in crashes reported in proximity of rail crossings—the role of driver inattention. Journal of Transportation Safety & Security, June 2017 (https://doi.org/10.1080/19439962.2017.1323061).
  • Kang, Yashu, and Aemal J. Khattak. A cluster based approach to analyze crash injury severity at highway-rail grade crossings. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, Vol. 2608, 2017 (https://doi.org/10.3141/2608-07).
  • Naik, Bhaven, Li-Wei Tung, Shanshan Zhao, and Aemal J. Khattak. Weather impacts on single-vehicle truck crash injury severity. Journal of Safety Research, 58, September 2016 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsr.2016.06.005).
  • Lee, Myungwoo, and Aemal J. Khattak. Application of Light Detection and Ranging technology to assess safe passage of low-ground-clearance vehicles at highway-rail grade crossings. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, Vol. 2545, 2016 (https://doi.org/10.3141/2545-14).
  • Zhao, Shanshan, Aemal J. Khattak, and Eric C. Thompson. Safety and economic assessment of converting two-way stop-controlled intersections to roundabouts on high speed rural highways. Journal of Transportation Research Forum, 54(1), 2015 (https://doi.org/10.22004/ag.econ.207452).
  • Tung, Li-Wei, and Aemal J. Khattak. Distracted motor vehicle driving at highway-rail grade crossings. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, Vol. 2476, 2015 (https://doi.org/10.3141/2476-11).
  • Gyawali, Sunil, Anuj Sharma, Aemal J. Khattak, and Edward Smaglik. Use of decision assistance curves in advanced warrant analysis for indirect left turn intersections. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, Vol. 2486, 2015 (https://doi.org/10.3141/2486-07).
  • Zhao, Shanshan, and Aemal J. Khattak. Motor vehicle drivers' injuries in train–motor vehicle crashes. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 74, January 2015 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2014.10.022).
  • Khattak, Aemal J. Investigation of train warning times and gate violations. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, Vol. 2458, 2014 (https://doi.org/10.3141/2458-13).