Rachael Thompson Panik, AICP
PhD student at Georgia Institute of Technology
The way we move through space unequivocally shapes our lives. Rachael wants to make sure it’s for the better.
Rachael grew up northern Alabama, but she fell in love with urban places while visiting Tokyo as a student ambassador. Since then, she’s spent the rest of her education learning about urban places and the challenges they create. Rachael attended the University of Alabama at Birmingham for a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and Japanese. Her team of mentors encouraged her to embrace a broadened education, directing her volunteering, advocacy, and service in the Birmingham community. Those experiences compelled her to obtain an urban planning degree from Clemson University, where she learned about the planning and policy decisions that make places great.
Safe Systems Pyramid
David J. Ederer, Rachael T. Panik, Kari E. Watkins, and Nisha Botchwey. "The safe systems pyramid: A new framework for traffic safety." In revision: Transportation Interdisciplinary Perspectives. Submitted April 2023.
Attitudes Towards Safety Among Engineering Students
Rachael T. Panik, Hamidreza Nazemi, Joseph H. Saleh, Brian Fitzpatrick, Patricia L. Mokhtarian. “Precursory Elements of Safety Culture: Exploratory Analyses of Engineering Students' Safety Attitudes.” Under Review in Journal of Safety Research. Submitted April 2023.
AP Interview: Push for transit, walkable communities growing across US
Rachael is featured in a video journalism piece by the Associated Press about biking and walking safety and equity in Atlanta and in the United States.
Safe Streets for Some
Matt D. Dean, Kaelin A. Amaya, Jennifer Hall, Kalinda M. Gupta, Rachael T. Panik, Jeanette Gustat, and Angie L. Cradock. "Safe streets for some: A review of local active transportation responses across the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic." Journal of Transport & Health (2023), 1–31. doi: 10.1016/j.jth.2023.101603
Bicycle Safety Research
In honor of Bicycle Safety Month, Georgia Tech’s School of Civil and Environmental Engineering highlight Rachael’s research, along with her lab-mate Reid Passmore’s work.
Transit Ridership During COVID-19 (Part 1 of 2)
MARTA’s David Springstead, Chief of Rail Operations, and Collie Greenwood, Chief of Bus Operations, and Rachael discuss the future of mass-transit in the City of Atlanta with regard to mobility as the driving force for the regional economy. In order for Atlanta to thrive, David and Collie envision a future MARTA with blended services and options which leverage pilot technologies as a solution to the regional economy.