Mana Meskar recently joined our group as a visiting PhD student from Sharif University of Technology. She will be co-supervised by Rico Kruger and Filipe Rodrigues from our group.

Mana has received her BSc and MSc in industrial engineering from Sharif university of technology. She is particularly interested in the intersection of Data Analytics and Operations Research, with a specific focus on the subjects of Transportation and Two-sided Markets.

Her current research is on matching strategies in ride-hailing platforms and her overall goal is to uncover the factors that affect drivers’ responses to ride requests received through the platform’s dispatch system. Additionally, she aim to develop an effective machine-learning-based model for predicting drivers’ decisions to accept or reject ride requests. This model will enable platforms to make data-based decisions and form the basis for developing a strategy for ongoing dispatch center processes

We wish her a fun and productive time during her stay with us! 😊