Dr Lei Chen is a Birmingham Fellow and Senior Lecturer at The University of Birmingham, currently leads the Future Railway Operation and Control Theme at UKRRIN Digital System Innovation Centre, and Railway Operation Control and Simulation team at the Birmingham Centre for Railway Research and Education. He qualified with a BEng in Automation Engineering from Beijing Jiaotong University and a PhD in Civil Engineering (Railway Traffic Management and Control) from The University of Birmingham. He is also qualified as a CEng (IRSE/EC). He has been working in the area of railway traffic management and train control since 2005, involved in several significant railway research and development projects in the UK and China, including the research and development of CBTC system, ETCS and next generation railway traffic management systems etc.
His research interest mainly covers railway traffic management and train control, railway simulation and testing, railway operation optimisation, and railway safety critical system design. He also works extensively with the railway industry in the UK and overseas including China and Europe etc.
He was awarded IMechE W. A. Agnew Meritorious/C. N. Goodall Award in 2010, and The Michael K. O’Rourke PhD Publications Award in 2012.