Santhanakrishnan Narayanan
Santhanakrishnan Narayanan is a postdoctoral researcher and senior mobility scientist at the Technical University of Munich (TUM). He completed his undergraduate studies in Civil Engineering at SASTRA University in India, before joining Larsen & Toubro Construction, an Indian multinational conglomerate, where he contributed to the Chennai Metro project as a Graduate Engineer Trainee and later as a Senior Engineer. He then pursued an M.Sc. in Transportation Systems at TUM. Following his master's degree, he joined our Chair as a Mobility Scientist, undertaking a doctorate alongside his work.
During his tenure, he has collaborated with institutes across multiple countries and engaged with a wide range of stakeholders. He played a pivotal role in managing the EU Horizon 2020 project MOMENTUM, overseeing both technical and administrative tasks. He was also involved in the TUM IGSSE project MO3 and and served as a guest researcher in the Machine Learning for Smart Mobility (MLSM) group at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). In addition, he collaborated with DLR Institute of Transport Research on Europe's largest cargo cycle testing project Ich entlaste städte. His work in this area, specifically on analyzing travel time differences between cargo cycles and cars, earned him the Best Research Paper award from the TRB Urban Freight Transportation Committee. Currently, he manages the EU Horizon Europe project PHOEBE.
Santhanakrishnan's research primarily focuses on developing modeling frameworks for emerging mobility solutions, combining traditional statistical modeling with advanced data-driven methodologies. His work spans conventional and automated shared mobility services in passenger transport, as well as cargo cycles in commercial transport. His publications reflect both theoretical and applied research, including comprehensive review articles, all aimed at enhancing system performance, efficiency, and safety. He also serves as a reviewer for top transportation journals, such as Transportation Research Part C : Emerging Technologies, Transportation and European Transport Research Review.
His pioneering research on graph neural networks at our Chair has led to multiple publications and new project funding within a short span. Recently, he has initiated research on transformer and large language model (LLM)-based solutions to address various transportation challenges.
UN SDG expertise and subject area focus
A full list of journal publications can be found here
Methodological papers
- Narayanan, S., & Antoniou, C. (2024). Graph neural networks as strategic transport modelling alternative ‐ A proof of concept for a surrogate. IET Intelligent Transport Systems, 18. https://doi.org/10.1049/itr2.12551
- Narayanan S., Salanova Grau, J. M., Frederix, R., Tympakianaki, A., Masegosa, A. D., & Antoniou, C. (2023). Modeling of shared mobility services - An approach in between aggregate four-step and disaggregate agent-based approaches for strategic transport planning. Journal of Intelligent Transportation Systems. https://doi.org/10.1080/15472450.2023.2246374
- Narayanan, S., Chaniotakis, E., & Antoniou, C. (2022). Modelling reservation-based shared autonomous vehicle services: A dynamic user equilibrium approach. Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies, 140. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trc.2022.103651
Applied Research
- Narayanan, S., & Antoniou, C. (2023). Shared mobility services towards Mobility as a Service (MaaS): What, who and when?. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 168. URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2023.103581
- Narayanan. S., Makarov, N., Magkos, E., Salanova Grau, J. M., Aifadopoulou, G., & Antoniou, C. (2023). Can Bike-Sharing Reduce Car Use in Alexandroupolis? An Exploration through the Comparison of Discrete Choice and Machine Learning Models. Smart Cities, 6(3), 1239-1253. https://doi.org/10.3390/smartcities6030060
- Narayanan S., Gruber, J., Liedtke, G., & Antoniou, C. (2022). Purchase intention and actual purchase of cargo cycles: Influencing factors and policy insights. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 155, 31-45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2021.10.007
Review works
- Narayanan, S., & Antoniou, C. (2022). Electric cargo cycles - A comprehensive review. Transport Policy, 116, 278-303. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2021.12.011
- Narayanan, S., Chaniotakis, E., & Antoniou, C. (2020). Shared autonomous vehicle services: A comprehensive review. Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies, 111, 255-293. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trc.2019.12.008
- Narayanan S., Chaniotakis E., & Antoniou, C. (2020). Factors affecting traffic flow efficiency implications of connected and autonomous vehicles: A review and policy recommendations. Advances in Transport Policy and Planning. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.atpp.2020.02.004
Miscellaneous
- Narayanan, S. (2019). Traveling Salesman Problem. MATLAB Central File Exchange. https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/64654- traveling-salesman-problem
| Jul 2023 - Today | Senior Mobility Scientist Technical University of Munich (TUM), Munich Germany |
| Sep 2019 - Jun 2023 | Mobility Scientist Technical University of Munich (TUM), Munich Germany |
| Mar 2018 - May 2018 | Research Intern Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), Berlin, Germany |
| Jul 2015 - Jan 2016 | Senior Engineer Larsen & Toubro Construction (L&T), Chennai, India |
| Jul 2014 - Jun 2015 | Graduate Engineering Trainee (GET) Larsen & Toubro Construction (L&T), Chennai, India |
| Dec 2013 - Feb 2014 | Research Intern Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, Mumbai, India |
| Dec 2012 | Design Intern CSIR Centre for Mathematical Modelling and Computer Simulation, Bangalore, India |
| Apr 2020 - Mar 2023 | Ph.D. Candidate Technical University of Munich (TUM) Dissertation: Aggregate four-step and disaggregate agent-based modelling approaches, but what is in between?: Development of an intermediate transport modelling approach |
| Oct 2016 - Jul 2019 | Master of Science in Transportation Systems Technical University of Munich (TUM) Thesis: Review and modelling of shared autonomous vehicle services (Grade: 1) |
| Jun 2010 - Jun 2014 | Bachelor of Technology in Civil engineering Thesis: Analysis of susceptibility to suffusion (Grade: 10) |