Song Gao is an accomplished transportation systems professional with a passion for research, teaching and development. She has a B.E. in Civil Engineering from Tsinghua University and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Transportation Systems from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She has worked as a Transportation Engineer at Caliper Corporation and is currently an Associate Professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst where she previously held the position of Assistant Professor.

Her research focuses on the intersection of transportation systems, data sciences, and urban planning with an emphasis on utilizing big data analytics, modeling and simulation to improve transportation systems and reduce congestion. In addition to her research and academic work, she is highly respected in her field for her contributions to the development of cutting-edge methodology for transportation planning and analysis.