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.
Bicycle + Pedestrian Safety: Human Factors
Conference Panel: “Safety Considerations for Cyclists and Pedestrians.” Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Conference, 2022. Keith S. Karn, Timothy Joganich, Richard A. Tyrrell, Rachael T. Panik, John D. Lee, and David C. Schwebel.
Safety Education
“Probing elements of safety culture in engineering students: Exploratory analysis and preliminary results.” Proceedings European Safety and Reliability Conference 2022. Rachael T. Panik, Hamidreza Nazemi, Joseph H. Saleh, Brian Fitzpatrick, Patricia L. Mokhtarian
Mobility Changes Due to COVID-19
Revised and Resubmitted: “Metrics of Mobility: Assessing the Impact of COVID-19 on Travel Behavior.” Transportation Research Record Special Issue on COVID-19. Rachael T. Panik, Kari E. Watkins, David J. Ederer.
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.
Urban Parks and the Economy During COVID-19 (Part 2 of 2)
Howard Wertheimer, Executive VP and Chief Operating Officer for the Piedmont Park Conservancy, and Rachael discuss the present and future impacts public infrastructures have on the local and regional economies of metropolitan cities like Atlanta and New York City.
Rachael Thompson Panik joins UTIL Lab
Rachael Panik joins the Urban Transportation Information Lab (UTIL) at the Georgia Institute of Technology as a PhD student. She matriculated in the Fall of 2020. Learn more about Rachael’s work and the UTIL group here.