Software engineering student works to make roads safer
(From left) Amy Cook, Muhid Hassan and Sarah Patterson are among the engineering students receiving 2025-2026 graduate fellowships and advancing high-profile research at the University of Arizona.
Software engineering doctoral candidate Muhid Hassan takes pride in making roads safer. The Herbold Fellow builds systems that warn drivers of hazardous conditions, reducing the likelihood of collisions.
“I’ve observed that even in many modern countries, infrastructure can be weak, which increases the risk of accidents,” he said. “That drives me to develop technology that prevents accidents, rather than just responding to them.”
Hasson won a 2025-2026 Herbold Fellowship to advance his technological solutions for road safety. Robert J. (Bob) Herbold is president of The Herbold Foundation and former COO of Microsoft. Each year, a handful of outstanding students at the U of A receive significant funding in their first year of study.
His research focuses on connected vehicle systems – networks of cars, phones, sensors, and traffic devices that continuously exchange real-time safety messages to monitor traffic. He aims to keep these systems secure, reliable and scalable so they can reduce crashes, protect pedestrians and create safer roadways.
Under the supervision of adviser Larry Head, professor of systems and industrial engineering, Hassan prototyped a platform called DriveArizona that provides drivers with real-time, situational safety alerts. He credits the fellowship with helping him develop this system.
“Winning the fellowship allows me to focus entirely on my research and gives me the chance to attend conferences, meet other engineers, and share my work with a broader audience,” he said.
Select universities across the country receive Herbold Fellowships for graduate students applying data science and computation in their studies and research.