Recent research:
The collective work centers on applying artificial intelligence, geospatial analysis, and advanced simulation to education, transportation, and urban systems, with a strong emphasis on responsible deployment of AI in learning and policy contexts. The research combines quantitative and qualitative methods to assess how AI-powered tools (e.g., GPT-based chatbots) perform in educational problem solving, including error analysis and stakeholder interviews to reveal limitations such as rigidness in errors and the need for critical evaluation. Parallel efforts explore how digital transformation, AI, and ICT-enabled pedagogies can empower educators and students, demonstrated by events highlighting digital business potentials and AI literacy. In transportation and urban planning, the author develops and evaluates large-scale, data-driven simulations and geospatial methodologies to understand accessibility to education, urban mobility, and emissions. Projects include: (1) geospatial and PostGIS-based analyses to measure access to educational centers for impoverished populations in Ecuador, (2) city-scale traffic simulations with HPC to inform mobility and emissions policies in Quito, (3) driver behavior analysis using GTA V-based driving simulators for data-driven insights with high realism, and (4) GeoSparkSim architecture for scalable vehicular traffic simulation across multiple cloud platforms. Overall, the work advances integrative frameworks for smart education and smart cities, emphasizing rigorous evaluation, reproducibility, and the potential of computational tools to inform inclusive, sustainable policy. The impact lies in guiding responsible AI integration in education and in providing scalable, data-driven insights for urban planning and environmental considerations.

Key Topics:

• Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning & Data Science
• Geospatial Analysis, Remote Sensing & GIS
• Education, Pedagogy, Teacher Training & Inclusion
• Transportation, Mobility, Vehicles & Emissions
• Urban Digital Transformation, Smart Cities & Digital Twins
• Optimization, Operations Research & Decision Support