Raphael Stern’s research interests relate to how we can use data, modeling, and control to improve the management of transportation systems. This includes work on traffic flow modeling and control, and work to improve traffic safety for all road users including drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists. He has worked on a variety of research topics funded both by state and federal research grants.
Stern received his bachelor’s, master’s, and PhD degrees in civil engineering from the University of Illinois. He has spent time as a visiting scholar at the Institute for Pure and Applied Math at the University of California Los Angeles and at the Institute for Software Integrated Systems at Vanderbilt University. Prior to joining the faculty at the University of Minnesota, Stern was a postdoctoral researcher at the Technical University of Munich. He received the CAREER award from the National Science Foundation and the Hans Fischer Fellowship from the Technical University of Munich in 2025.