By Ines Aviles-Spadoni, M.S., M.A., Research/Communications Coordinator
Michael Zayas began thinking differently about his future when Hurricanes Irma and Maria devastated Puerto Rico in 2017.
“Those events had a profound impact on my quality of life and made me reflect on what I wanted to do with my future,” he said.
Having grown up on the island, Zayas witnessed how natural disasters can upend people’s lives and communities. The experience went on to define how he would spend the next chapter of his life and ultimately his career.
“It was during that time that I realized my passion and motivation lie in serving communities and finding ways to make a positive difference,” Zayas said.
And the field of transportation would allow him to do exactly that.
Transportation is deeply personal to Zayas. His brother is a professional cyclist in Puerto Rico, where finding adequate bicycling infrastructure can be challenging and where public education on sharing the road with cyclists is limited. Zayas also said that public transit options don’t always meet the needs of residents.
“These experiences have made me constantly think about how vulnerable road users complete their daily trips,” he said. “The reality is that Puerto Rico still lacks the infrastructure needed to safely accommodate all users and create a truly multimodal transportation system.”
When Zayas graduated with a master’s degree in city planning from Boston University, he began his career in transportation by working with the City of Jacksonville, Florida. He has since worked to serve other communities in Florida such as Miami Lakes, Hollywood, and Orlando. As a working professional, Zayas also completed additional graduate degrees in geographic information systems, public health, sustainable design, and UF’s master’s degree in civil engineering with a concentration in transportation leadership.
Zayas is now pursuing a doctoral degree in transportation engineering and is the recipient of a graduate research fellowship through the University of Florida Transportation Institute (UFTI). He will be working under the guidance of Xiang ‘Jacob’ Yan, an assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering. Zayas said his interests align with Yan’s research in the areas of transportation equity, mobility on demand and transit riders’ exposure to extreme heat, a topic he focused on in his master’s in public health.
“My final paper examined the consequences of prolonged exposure to extreme heat and sunlight and the effects these conditions have on human health,” he said. “When I discovered Professor Jacob’s research on measuring transit riders’ exposure to extreme heat, I immediately recognized the connection to my previous academic work.”
Under Yan’s direction, Zayas also hopes to find out how artificial intelligence (AI) can help transportation professionals work with large sets of data more efficiently. This would be like putting together a puzzle with millions of pieces. AI can help sort through these pieces more quickly, making it easier to see patterns and provide transportation professionals with the information they need to make smart decisions.
“My goal has always been to base my recommendations on data, best practices and measurable outcomes,” he said. “I never want anyone to think that a transportation project was implemented without a clear purpose. Instead, I want communities to understand that every transportation decision, whether it involves project prioritization, design or implementation, is supported by data, scenario analysis, engineering judgment and cost-benefit evaluations.”
As Zayas begins his doctoral program at the University of Florida, he also hopes to build a career that will allow him to balance practice with teaching. He believes this will allow him to further contribute to the transportation profession and to the education of future transportation professionals. For him, this next chapter is another step in his journey that began nearly a decade ago, when two back-to-back hurricanes in Puerto Rico inspired him to dedicate his career to serving communities.