Nitheesh K

Dr. Nitheesh is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at École Centrale School of Engineering, Mahindra University, Hyderabad. He obtained his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering, with a specialization in Transportation Systems Engineering, from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Palakkad in 2025. He completed his M.Tech. from National Institute of Technology (NIT) Calicut in 2018, and his B.Tech. from Government Engineering College Kozhikode (GECK) in 2015.

His research interests broadly lie in transportation systems engineering, with a particular focus on evacuation planning, disaster risk reduction, and transportation network resilience. His doctoral research adopted an interdisciplinary approach, drawing upon concepts from civil engineering, operations research, geography, and public policy to address complex challenges in evacuation planning and transport infrastructure resilience.

Dr. Nitheesh has demonstrated strong scholarly communication skills through publications in reputed peer-reviewed journals, and presentations at national and international conferences. His research and academic contributions have been recognized through awards such as the CDRI Fellowship (2021), the Best Paper Award at CTSEM (NIT Warangal), and the First Prize in the Flash Talk Competition at IIT Palakkad (2025).

He brings teaching experience at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, having served as a Teaching Assistant at IIT Palakkad and previously as an Assistant Professor at Vimal Jyothi Engineering College, Kerala. His teaching interests include Transportation Engineering, Traffic Engineering, Analysis of Transportation Systems, and Optimization Techniques in Engineering. He has also been involved in academic service activities such as accreditation support, conference organization, and student mentoring.

• Ph.D. in Civil Engineering [Transportation Systems Engineering], Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Palakkad, India [2020 – 2025]
  Thesis title: Risk-averse Approaches for Evacuation Planning on Road Networks
• M.Tech. in Civil Engineering [Traffic and Transportation Planning], National Institute of Technology (NIT) Calicut, India [2016 – 2018]
  Thesis title: Synthesis of Household, Personal and Travel Characteristics for the Cities of Calicut, Trivandrum, and Bangalore
• B.Tech. in Civil Engineering, Government Engineering College Kozhikode (GECK), India [2011 – 2015]
  Final year project: Master Plan Preparation and Structural Design of Atholi Govt. Vocational Higher Secondary School, Kozhikode, India

International Journals:

• K. Nitheesh and B. K. Bhavathrathan (2026). “Estimating the price of unpreparedness in road network evacuations”. Submitted to Transport Policy; currently with editor.
• K. Nitheesh and B. K. Bhavathrathan (2025). “Disaster-resilient transport network design considering risk-averse evacuation traffic demand”. Transportmetrica A: Transport Science, 1-31. https://doi.org/10.1080/23249935.2025.2513680
• K. Nitheesh and B. K. Bhavathrathan (2025). “Risk-averse critical link identification considering evacuation demand and transport network topology”. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 104849. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2025.104849
• K. Nitheesh, B. K. Bhavathrathan, M. Manoj, T. M. Rahul (2023). “A risk minimization based approach for planning evacuation trip distribution”. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 97, 104051. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2023.104051

Conferences

• K. Nitheesh, Deepanshu Singal, B. K. Bhavathrathan, Manoj Malayath and T. M. Rahul. “A method to select shelter locations that maximizes post-disaster connectivity reliability”, Sixth International Conference of Transportation Research Group of India. CTRG 2021.
• K. Nitheesh and B. K. Bhavathrathan. “Improving resilience to post-disaster transport operations”, Proceedings of National Conference on Resilient Infrastructure. NCRI 2022.
• K. Nitheesh, Devika Babu and M.V.L.R. Anjaneyulu. “Synthesis of Household and Personal Characteristics”, Fifth Colloquium on Transportation Systems Engineering and Management. CTSEM 2018.

• Assistant Professor [Feb 2026 – Present] Department of Civil Engineering, École Centrale School of Engineering Mahindra University, Hyderabad, India
  Courses handled: Transportation Engineering II, Intelligent Transportation Systems
• Senior Research Fellow [Jan 2025 – Jan 2026] Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Palakkad, India
  Project title: Surrogate Safety Measures for Predictive Safety Intervention for Safety on Inconsistent Roads with Heterogeneous Traffic 
• Teaching Assistant [Jan 2020 – Dec 2023] Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Palakkad, India
  Courses assisted: Transportation Engineering, Traffic Engineering, Analysis of Transportation Systems, Optimization Techniques in Engineering 
• Assistant Professor [Jul 2018 – Dec 2019] Department of Civil Engineering, Vimal Jyothi Engineering College, Kannur, India
  Courses handled: Transportation Engineering I & II, Surveying, Sustainable Engineering, Design Engineering, Geotechnical Engineering Lab, Material Testing Lab
• Guest Lecturer [Jan 2016 – Apr 2016] Department of Civil Engineering, Government Engineering College Kozhikode (GECK), India
  Courses handled: Transportation Engineering I, Surveying

Dr. Nitheesh’s research interest broadly lies at the intersection of transport network optimization, disaster risk management, and resilience engineering, with a particular emphasis on developing risk-averse and resilience-oriented transportation systems.

During his Ph.D. research, he addressed key gaps in evacuation modelling by formulating methods that account for both the probability and consequences of disaster-induced disruptions. His work highlights the need for transport systems that are not only efficient under normal operating conditions but also robust and adaptive in the face of uncertainty and extreme events.

In addition to his core doctoral research on transport network resilience, he has actively engaged with road safety-focused activities through his association with the Transport Systems laboratory at IIT Palakkad. Notably, he had participated in a comprehensive traffic data collection initiative across multiple districts in Kerala, India, supporting colleagues working on traffic safety studies.

Industrial Projects Involved:

• Project supported by the 2021-2022 Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) fellowship (Application ID: 210110405)
  Study area: The Western Ghats, India
• Project supported by National Mission on Himalayan Studies (NMHS) (Grant Reference No.: NMHS/201920/SG64/64)
  Study area: Gangtok, Sikkim, India
• Project supported by IIT Palakkad Technology I-Hub Foundation (IPTIF)
  Study area: Trivandrum, Kerala, India