Dr. Karla Rodrigues-Silva was driven by her love of math from a young age and started out pursuing physics in school. By her mid-teens, Karla discovered that her true passion was engineering.

In high school, she pursued a technical degree in civil engineering, found a position as a civil engineer and attended university in Brazil. While pursuing her education Dr. Rodrigues-Silva kept an open mind, allowing herself to take opportunities as they presented themselves and follow her passion for math and helping people. She did her bachelor’s degree at the University of Minas Gerais in Brazil with a semester in Ecole Nationale des Pontes et Chausses in France. She went on to study at the University of Sao Paulo where she received her master’s and Ph.D. While studying at the University of Sao Paulo, Karla spent time at UF as a Visiting Scholar. While doing her graduate studies Dr. Rodrigues-Silva focused on evaluating crash prediction models for two-lane highways; she worked to compare U.S. and Brazilian models considering various road safety conditions.

Throughout her educational journey, Dr. Rodrigues-Silva moved from studying engineering to specifically transportation engineering and found her calling was studying safety.

Dr. Rodrigues-Silva’s passion for transportation safety comes from a genuine desire to positively change the lives of people. Transportation touches the lives of every person, and by working in transportation safety, she can make positive changes.

In her new position as a Post-Doc with the UFTI Dr. Rodrigues-Silva will analyze traffic data from the U.S. and South America and explore building safety models for use in the U.S. and South America. Thanks to her fluency in multiple languages, Dr. Rodrigues-Silva will develop instructional materials in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.

The UFTI is excited to welcome Dr. Rodrigues-Silva to the team.