Frustration and irritation are standard emotions felt by drivers stuck day to day in city congestion. Heavy traffic, however, increases much more than just the population’s blood pressure: it also emits excessive greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere. A recent study led by CEE Professor Carolina Osorio offers efficient methods of programming a city’s stoplights to tackle these challenges. “What we do is develop algorithms that allow major transportation agencies to use high-resolution models of traffic to solve optimization problems,” said Professor Osorio, lead author of the study. The studies developed unprecedented algorithms to retime traffic lights; ultimately improving travel times as well as reducing fuel consumption and emissions across the city. Read the MIT News story.