Name:
Qijian Gan
Center:
Partners for Advanced Transportation Technology
What’s your hometown?
Foshan, Guangdong, China.
What is your role at ITS, describe your job in four words, and how long have you been here?
I am a Computational Data Science Research Specialist in the PATH program. I work on various research projects related to traffic operations, CAV applications, and data analysis. I have been working at UC Berkeley since I graduated from UC Irvine in 2015.
What is your favorite thing about working at ITS?
The most significant advantage of working at ITS is having the potential to collaborate with top professors/researchers in various areas. We have many leading research centers under ITS, so it is easy to find potential collaborators whenever it is needed.
Where’s your happy place, favorite bay area location?
Berkeley Campus for sure! It is so beautiful, especially in the Spring season. During the pandemic, I often walked my son to the campus and enjoyed the time there.
When you aren’t cheering the Bears on, who do you root for/what’s your alma mater?
I am not naturally very sporty. But I do cheer for both the Bears and the Anteaters!
What is on the top of your travel experience/destination list?
A driving trip between Berkeley and Pasadena/Irvine along I-5/California 99.
What’s the latest book you read/latest show you binged/movie you watched/podcast you listened to? (Choose one or two or more)
Pete the Cat, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, Elephant and Piggie, various Chinese story books, Cocomelon, Lego movies, … This is the joy of fatherhood.
For myself, I enjoy reading textbooks, research papers, technical reports, etc.
What is your favorite food?
Roasted duck and BBQ Pork! I love cooking. I am a little bit picky on food, so it ends up I am the only one who cooks at home!
If you could become a mode of transportation, what would you be?
A flying car! I do not need to get stuck in the traffic jam on surface roads.
If you could meet anyone in the world, dead, alive, or fictional, who would it be?
Nikola Tesla. I often think he came from Outer Space!
What’s your most treasured possession?
A tiny Jade Buddha I have been wearing since I was 2.
What is a fun fact about you?
I am trilingual. I learned almost everything in Cantonese when I was young. I realize I memorize numbers in Cantonese. Every time I need to spell out the numbers in English or Mandarin, I have a transition process and need to spell them out in Cantonese in my mind first. This is very interesting to see how human brain works when a person is bilingual or trilingual.