<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">I am writing to express my interest in the Assistant Professor role at the National Institute of Construction Management and Research, Pune. I am currently a doctoral candidate in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Mississippi, United States, where my research focuses on the transportation planning and travel behaviour of the aging population. Given my expertise and vast experience in transportation, I am excited about this position. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">My interest in transportation first developed during an undergraduate internship. Since then, I have consistently worked in this field, while actively exploring new research domains within transportation and urban planning. To explore further, I took admission to pursue a master&rsquo;s in transportation engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras, which is the top technical institute in India. It was at IIT-Madras that I had the chance to work on real transportation projects in traffic engineering and road safety. I took a rigorous transportation engineering course that covered traffic signal design, urban transportation planning, travel demand management strategies, and their impacts through real-world case studies. I presented two of my papers to the World Conference on Transportation Research (WCTR) held in Montreal, Canada. I have also presented a poster at the prestigious Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">Currently, my doctoral research examines how the COVID-19 pandemic, online shopping adoption, and the built environment shape the travel behaviour of older adults, using data from the National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Smart Location Database. I have held various positions of responsibility in both teaching and research. I am the teaching assistant for the traffic engineering and planning course at the University of Mississippi. My responsibilities include grading assignments and guiding students on term projects. I also took a specialized course in teaching methodology, covering communication practices, syllabus design, and engaging with students to improve the effectiveness of the coursework. For this course, I designed a teaching methodology to introduce the four steps of the transportation planning process through experimental learning. Rather than relying solely on classroom lectures, I developed a series of interactive activities that enabled students to simulate real-world transportation planning tasks. As a faculty member at an educational institution shaping young minds, my advice to students will always be to avoid overburdening themselves with work and to take up activities or skills one at a time that they find uncomfortable or hard to learn. This will not only make them industry ready but also increase their confidence.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">Several of my papers offer recommendations to improve road safety and enhance equity through strategies such as subsidized and educational programs. Recently, I completed an analysis of the temporal effect of online shopping on trip-making among older adults. I conducted a detailed analysis of how online shopping has affected the travel patterns of older adults, using advanced statistical models to examine its future implications for travel demand. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">During the summer of 2024, I got the opportunity to intern at the American Automobile Association (AAA) Foundation for Traffic Safety under the Paul Petrillo Internship programme. The AAA Foundation is mainly involved in policy research. The research internship was a great learning experience that strengthened my understanding of inclusivity-based transportation planning. I worked on collaborative projects using Geographical Information Systems and complex longitudinal datasets. My time at AAA taught me to look at problems from an interdisciplinary perspective, as the team included people from diverse backgrounds.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">I am highly impressed by the applied, industry-focused research that NICMAR has been conducting. This makes it different from the traditional civil engineering departments at other institutions. Also, it is among the very few institutes with strong industry collaborations. I always had a clear vision of returning to India and pursuing an academic career. This position will offer me a great opportunity to start my career. My qualifications, experience, and passion for transportation make me an excellent fit for this role. It aligns well with my focus on staying in academia while still participating in industry-led projects. I am confident that my experience as a research and teaching assistant will be valuable for this position, and I&rsquo;ll be able to contribute to the long term goals of NICMAR. </span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">Several of my papers are currently under review at reputable journals, and I plan to complete my Ph.D. in May 2026. I would be delighted to discuss further how my background and interests align with this job role. Thank you very much for your time and consideration.</span></p>