The Transportation Research Board (TRB) held its annual meeting in Washington, D.C. last January. The event brought together leading transportation experts, researchers, and professionals from around the world to exchange knowledge and ideas about the latest developments in transportation.
The Transportation Research Board (TRB) annual meeting is a crucial gathering for transportation professionals, providing a platform for the exchange of knowledge and ideas, and the opportunity to learn about the latest advancements in the field. The event serves as a catalyst for the advancement of transportation research and the development of innovative transportation solutions that will help to create a better future for everyone.
The Centre de Recerca Matemàtica was present at this year’s TRB annual meeting. David Romero, from the CRM Knowledge Transfer Unit, and Lluís Alsedà, CRM Director, attended the meeting in Washington D.C. and had the opportunity to exhibit a poster presenting the Bus on-demand project developed by the CRM and promoted by Transports Metropolitants de Barcelona (TMB). They were accompanied by Josep Mensión, Director of the Bus Central Services Division at TMB.
The project studies the feasibility and advantages of using Demand-responsive transport (DRT) to replace local fixed routes within the city of Barcelona. It offers a service based on pre-established or dynamic routes and stops, which are adapted to the needs of origin or destination of the users. The aim is to optimize vehicle routes by maximizing the number of passengers and reducing travel time, by using cutting edge technology, custom made algorithms. These algorithms are inspired by aspects found on genetics and the natural selection mechanism, due to their adaptability, and that are also involved in the creation of Artificial Intelligence systems.
“Our goal by attending the TRB Annual Meeting is two-fold”, says David Romero, doctor in mathematics and member of the CRM KTU team. “On the one hand, we want to bring attention to the fact that there are mathematicians currently working on solving transport related problems, but we also want to explore what other challenges affecting society are out there that could be approached from a mathematical perspective to optimise procedures, whether it’s the use of certain materials to build roads or the impact of traffic lights frequency on traffic flow.”
The meeting offered an open forum to discuss the role of transportation in addressing global challenges such as climate change, equity, safety, and economic growth. Over the course of five days, participants attended technical sessions, workshops, and plenary sessions to hear presentations on cutting-edge research and innovative transportation solutions.
Transportation Innovation for a Better Future
In terms of what the future of the project developed together with TMB has in store, Romero believes that ‘’working with TMB brings a great opportunity for us to explore other problems and challenges affecting their activity, that could be improved or systematized. We would like to keep collaborating with them to strengthen our participation in international events from a research standpoint, such as the TRB Annual Meeting in the future.’’
The TRB meeting also featured several interactive sessions, including roundtable discussions, and networking opportunities. These sessions provide attendees with opportunities to discuss transportation challenges and explore potential solutions with their peers, with an emphasis on research and scientific advancement. In addition, the TRB showcases several exhibitions featuring the latest in transportation technology, products, and services. Events such as this stress the importance of collaboration and cooperation in advancing the transportation field and serves as an excellent opportunity to highlight the role that mathematics and math-based solutions can play when addressing global challenges to create a better future for all.

CRM Comm Team
Anna Drou | Pau Varela
CRMComm@crm.cat
Subscribe for more CRM News
JISD 2025 – Where Dynamical Systems Meet PDEs
JISD 2025, held at the Centre de Recerca Matemàtica (CRM) from June 30 to July 4, 2025, featured four advanced minicourses delivered by Dmitry Dolgopyat (on averaging and Fermi acceleration in dynamical systems), Serena Dipierro (on the theory of nonlocal minimal...
ICMNS 2025: Ten Years of Mathematical Neuroscience, Celebrated in Barcelona
The 10th edition of the International Conference on Mathematical Neuroscience (ICMNS 2025) gathered more than 150 researchers from over 25 countries at the PRBB in Barcelona. Organised by the CRM and UPC, with the support of UPF, the event...
Hong Wang: On Solving Kakeya and Rethinking Restriction
At the Modern Trends in Fourier Analysis conference held at the Centre de Recerca Matemàtica, mathematician Hong Wang (NYU Courant) presented a new approach to the Stein restriction conjecture, connecting it with geometric incidence problems...
A Journey through Harmonic Analysis and PDEs – CRM Summer School Chronicle
From June 25 to 27, 2025, the Summer School on Harmonic Analysis and PDEs brought together researchers and students for three days of advanced courses and discussion. With lectures by Taoufik Hmidi, Daniel Faraco, and Joan Verdera, the program covered topics like...
Guillem Blanco rep el Premi José Luis Rubio de Francia 2024
Guillem Blanco, professor de la UPC i investigador adscrit al CRM, ha estat guardonat amb el Premi José Luis Rubio de Francia 2024 per les seves contribucions a la teoria de les singularitats i els D-mòduls. El jurat ha destacat, entre altres...
Hypatia 2025 Brings Together Young Researchers in Mathematics
The fourth edition of the Hypatia Graduate Summer School took place from 16 to 19 June 2025 in Barcelona. Addressed to PhD students, the school combined two advanced courses in number theory with a public colloquium, a film screening, and...
Javier Gómez Serrano collaborates with Terence Tao and DeepMind on an AI project to solve open mathematical problems
Javier Gómez Serrano, former CRM member and professor at Brown University, is working with Terence Tao and DeepMind on AlphaEvolve, an AI tool that uses code evolution to solve complex math problems. For him, it signals a shift in how research is...
Closing Session of the SIJIMat Seminar: A Celebration of Young Mathematical Talent
Four young researchers (S. Dhyr, A. Garcia, L. Unamuno and R.Homs) at CRM present their work in geometry, neuroscience, environmental statistics, and algebraic methods in the final SIJIMat session of the academic year.On June 12, the Centre de Recerca Matemàtica (CRM)...
What is Open Science? From Data to Impact: Insights from the CRM
On June 11, the Centre de Recerca Matemàtica (CRM) hosted the Open Science Day, bringing together researchers to explore the principles, challenges, and transformative potential of open science. With a central talk by Ignasi Labastida and a roundtable featuring...
The IRP on Modern Fourier Analysis moves forward with its main conference at CRM
For one intense week, the CRM auditorium became a meeting point for some of the most active researchers in modern Fourier analysis. From June 2 to June 6, 2025, the Conference on Modern Trends in Fourier Analysis brought together senior experts,...
Welcoming Eleven New Affiliated Researchers to the Centre de Recerca Matemàtica
From left to right, top to bottom: Carles Broto (UAB-CRM), Álvaro Corral (UAB-CRM), Wolfgang Pitsch (UAB-CRM), Richard Lang (UPC - CRM), Simeon Ball (UPC - CRM), Lluís Vena (UPC - CRM), Jorge Antezana (UB-CRM), Leticia Pardo (UB-CRM), Guillem Blanco (UPC - CRM),...
El CRM acull una nova sessió del programa Bojos per les Matemàtiques
Dissabte passat, el Centre de Recerca Matemàtica va acollir una sessió del programa Bojos per les Matemàtiques, adreçat a estudiants de batxillerat amb interès i talent per aquesta disciplina. Una vintena de participants van assistir a dues...