DrJacek Pawlak

Dr Jacek Pawlak is an Advanced Research Fellow at Imperial College London's Centre for Transport Engineering and Modelling, working at the intersection of transport, energy systems, data analytics and digital innovation. Trained in Economics, Geography and Transport (University College London; Imperial College London), he specialises in activity- and agent-based modelling, time-use and productivity analysis, ontology-based modelling, knowledge graph development, and the impacts of information and communication technologies and artificial intelligence — including large language models — on mobility and energy demand. A longstanding research interest concerns the relationship between digital behaviour and physical mobility: how the proliferation of mobile ICT and connectivity shapes activity-travel patterns, travel time use and productivity, and the relative attractiveness of transport modes. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and served as Committee Research Coordinator for the US Transportation Research Board Standing Committee on the Impact of ICT on Travel Choices (AEP35) from 2017 to 2024.

Jacek has published extensively in leading international journals, contributed to major policy reports for government and industry, and led or co-led a range of interdisciplinary projects. He is Principal Investigator on QUBELL, an EPSRC-funded Energy Demand Research Centre project investigating how consumers use large language models for energy advice and the biases and risks this introduces, with policy partners including Ofgem, Energy Systems Catapult, EnergyUK, Citizens Advice and Nesta. He is also Co-Investigator on a current project evaluating smart vehicle-to-grid integration for public fleets in supporting urban energy systems, supported by TfL and UK Power Networks. He has been a key contributor to large research programmes including Researcher Co-Investiator of the ESRC/EPSRC-funded Energy Demand Research Centre and the EPSRC-funded Integrated Development of Low-carbon Energy Systems (IDLES). His work frequently informs policy and practice, and he has acted as an advisor or consultant to bodies such as the UK Department for Transport, National Highways, the Rail Safety and Standards Board, local authorities and international organisations. His supervised research has been recognised with multiple awards including the David A. Hensher Award and Michael Bell Prize, both awarded in 2025.

Alongside his academic role, Jacek is Founder and Director of the data analytics consultancy Intersection Analytics Ltd and has held senior industrial posts, including Principal Modelling Specialist at Cisco Systems and Chief Scientist and Consultant at Purple Transform, where he led AI-powered analytics deployments for rail and energy clients across the UK and EU, including market entry into Polish rail infrastructure. He is an active reviewer for numerous international journals and funding agencies in the UK and abroad, and regularly contributes to expert panels, workshops and invited seminars on transport, urban analytics and AI.