Rachael Thompson Panik, Ph.D., AICP

Rachael Thompson Panik, AICP, PhD is an Assistant Professor in the School of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering at the University of Alabama. Rachael holds degrees in transportation engineering and urban planning from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (B.S.), Clemson University (M.C.R.P), and Georgia Tech (Ph.D.). Before pursuing her Ph.D., she worked as a transportation planning consultant, helping communities across the U.S. implement safe infrastructure for bicyclists and pedestrians. Rachael leverages her diverse work experience and education towards an interdisciplinary program of research on “upstream” transportation safety: addressing the causes of traffic crashes that are embedded in the built environment and in the decision-making factors that preclude safe travel.

Rachael has been a part of national-level planning and transportation leadership for many years. She served as the Chair of APA’s Student Representatives Council (SRC) and Emerging Planner Board Member from 2017-2019, and as past-chair of the SRC from 2019-2021. She has also served on APA’s Education Committee (2021–2022) and Nominations Committee (2023–2024). Currently, she is a member of the Transportation Research Board’s Committee on Bicycle Transportation (2024 – present) and a research coordinator for the Subcommittee on Bicycle and Pedestrian Data (2024 – present).