Mehdi Nourinejad, a professor in York University’s Lassonde School of Engineering, has been named an Amazon Scholar – a prestigious appointment recognizing academic leaders whose research drives real-world technological innovation.
At the core of Nourinejad’s work lies a driving question: how can cities move better?
At York, in the Department of Civil Engineering, he leads the Interactive Operations Research Group and teaches courses including Traffic Simulation Modelling and Intelligent Transportation Systems. His research spans a wide range of real-world challenges, from designing parking systems for autonomous vehicles to studying how ride-sharing platforms influence traffic patterns and how electric vehicles can support power grids.
As cities become increasingly automated and complex, Nourinejad continues to focus on building smarter, more efficient transportation systems. His appointment as an Amazon Scholar marks a significant step in expanding that work.
The Amazon Scholars program aims to bridge academia and industry by enabling leading researchers to contribute to Amazon’s innovation while advancing their own academic pursuits.
“It’s a very competitive position,” says Nourinejad. “You have to really display innovation to get their attention.”
Nourinejad now joins an international network of academic researchers collaborating with Amazon teams on advanced technical problems in areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), logistics and optimization. He brings expertise in predictive and optimization models linked to web-based platforms that help decision-makers interact with data in intuitive ways.
One such tool simulates how electric delivery vehicles can optimize routes in real time based on capacity, battery range and other constraints. Users can add or move delivery points, and the system instantly recalculates routes, charging needs and efficiency metrics.
While the commercial advantages of such tools for a company like Amazon are clear, Nourinejad also sees the personal value of the position. As an Amazon Scholar, he spends 20 per cent of his time with the company – as an employee – while continuing to teach and lead research at York.
“When you’re in academia, you’re often doubting what the real-world impact of your work is,” he says. “With this opportunity, I get to see what the impact of my research looks like practically.”
That perspective strengthens not only his work but York’s growing reputation for research that connects cutting-edge theory with practical transportation solutions. His Amazon appointment aligns with other York-led initiatives shaping the future of mobility, including the SmartTO mobility hub, Jinjun Shan’s work with drones at the Lassonde School of Engineering and the Smart Mobility Tech Accelerator at innovation hub YSpace.