Dr. Bhagwant Persaud

As a graduate student, Bhagwant Persaud had a professor who described the pleasure that comes from discovering something genuinely new as the “ecstasy of the find.” As a transportation engineer, Persaud finds this joy from exploring the elements that make a highway as safe as possible.

“My work involves mathematically modelling crash causes based on real crash data,” he says. “We work to understand how decisions about designing and managing transportation infrastructure impact road safety.” Collaborating with industry and government organizations such as the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario, Persaud analyzes information from crashes such as severity, amount and type of traffic, time of day and road features to identify common elements of road design that contribute to safety. He also uses his techniques to assess the crash-reduction potential of various traffic “countermeasures” such as rumble strips.  

For Persaud, the joy of discovery is amplified by the sense of purpose he feels in his work. “A lot of my work is directly linked to reducing the risk of crashes,” he says. “Road safety is effectively a version of public health, so it’s quite motivating.”