Rahim F. (Ray) Benekohal holds a B.S. (The Ohio State University 1981), M.S. (The Ohio State University 1981), and Ph.D. (The Ohio State University 1986), all in civil engineering. From 1986-1987, Dr. Benekohal worked for the consulting firm RKA Inc. He has been on the faculty of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois since 1987.

Dr. Benekohal teaches undergraduate and graduate courses and conducts research in traffic flow modeling and simulation, traffic flow theory, intelligent transportation systems, traffic operations, and traffic safety.

He is editor of the book, “Traffic Congestion and Traffic Safety in the 21st Century: Challenges, Innovations, and Opportunities,” published by the American Society of Engineers. He guest edited the special issue of the Journal of Computer-Aided Civil and Infrastructure Engineering, Advanced Computer Technologies in Transportation Engineering, published in December 1999.

Dr. Benekohal is the Director of the Traffic Operations Lab (TOL) and the Director of the annual Illinois Traffic Engineering and Safety Conference. He is actively involved in Transportation Research Board, ITS Midwest, the American Society of Civil Engineers, and the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE). He is the faculty adviser to the Student Chapter of ITE.

Dr. Benekohal’s awards and honors include the following: the American Society of Engineers 1993 Arthur M. Wellington Prize; Honorary Professor in Traffic Engineering, Harbin University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, People’s Republic of China, in 1996; and the Illinois Section of Institute of Transportation Engineers’ prestigious Past President’s Award, in 1998.