Invited Speakers

Jean Drèze is a development economist who has taught at the London School of Economics and the Delhi School of Economics, and is currently a visiting professor at Ranchi University as well as an honorary professor at the Delhi School of Economics. He has made wide-ranging contributions to development economics and public policy, particularly in India. His research spans rural development, social inequality, elementary education, child nutrition, health care, and food security—areas that all acquire renewed relevance and fresh analytical perspectives in the context of climate change.

Moshe Ben-Akiva works at the intersection of engineering and economics. He is a founding member of AICC. He pioneered random-utility models that form the basis of modern activity-based travel demand forecasting. He later integrated choice models with dynamic traffic assignment, leading to the development of the DynaMIT microsimulation framework, which combines real-time sensor data with behavioral models to predict congestion and evaluate control strategies. His research has extended to modelling individual behavior in the context of climate change.

Ennio Cascetta was Full Professor of Transport Systems Planning from 1986 to November 2024, serving at the University of Reggio Calabria, University of Naples Federico II, and Universitas Mercatorum. He has also taught for over 30 years at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Author of numerous books and articles, he has been ranked among the world’s top 1% most influential scientists by Stanford University. Cascetta held major leadership roles in Italian transport policy and infrastructure, including presidencies at Anas SpA and Metropolitana di Napoli, chairmanship at TECNE–Autostrade per l’Italia, and coordination of national transport and logistics planning, contributing to high-speed rail and regional transport plans.

Third speaker: to be announced