6/24/2021 Emily Jankauski
Written by Emily Jankauski
Illinois Center for Transportation has welcomed three new staffers — Ghassan Chehab, Akshiti Modi and Sree Lakshmi Venda.
Ghassan Chehab
Chehab began his role as senior research scientist earlier in November 2020. Here he aspires to contribute in growing ICT’s efforts and turn its vision of building the Illinois Autonomous and Connected Track, a multimodal, high-speed autonomous and connected vehicle track, into “reality.”
The Beirut, Lebanon, native previously worked as an associate professor at the American University of Beiruit (Beirut, Lebanon) and as an assistant professor at Penn State.
Chehab holds a bachelor’s in civil and environmental engineering and a master’s in engineering management from the American University of Beirut as well as a doctoral degree in civil and environmental engineering from North Carolina State University.
What made him interested in such a role?
“The opportunities, potential for professional growth, (the) reputation of ICT and UIUC (the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign),” he said.
Outside of ICT, you can find Chehab catching the latest sports game on TV.
“I love sports (and) by that I mean watching sports, not playing them,” Chehab joked. “I am a great enthusiast of college sports. Go Illini!”
Akshiti Modi
Modi began assisting the Project Management team part time in December 2020. Here she’s planning and organizing project management tools used for projects.
Her goals for the role?
“I would like to strengthen my knowledge on project management,” Modi said, “and learn about (the) lifecycle of a project to be able to contribute to ICT’s current mission and vision.”
The Jodhpur, India, native previously served as a teaching assistant at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Department of Economics and Finance. Prior to that, she worked as a business analyst at Deloitte India.
Modi holds a bachelor’s in commerce from Jai Narain Vyas University (Jodhpur, India), a master’s in business administration from the Shanti Business School (Ahmedabad, India) and a master’s in media studies from SIUE.
In Modi’s free time, she enjoys biking around campus and cooking up Indian recipes passed on to her by her grandmother.
“(They) preserve rich food culture,” Modi said.
Her favorite dish to cook?
Biryani, a rice dish mixed with Indian spices, meat and/or eggs or veggies.
Sree Lakshmi Venda
Venda’s role as a research projects coordinator began in June. She will facilitate Technical Research Panels, working alongside project investigators and TRP chairs to ensure a seamless research process for Illinois Department of Transportation and ICT’s joint efforts.
The Visakhapatnam, India, native’s previous experience as a project manager at Vizag Technologies and branch sales and services representative for PNC Financial Services Group’s Regional Resource Team prepared her for her new role, and they are what drew her to the position.
“I was looking for a challenging role where I could use my technical skills, project management skills and interpersonal skills,” Venda said. “This position is a perfect blend of all three.”
Venda holds a bachelor’s of technology in electrical and electronics engineering from Jawaharlal Nehru Technical University (Hyderabad, India).
In the new staffer's spare time, you can find Venda turning the pages of her favorite authors Brian Tracy and Jack Canfield.