By Geoff Hewings, professor emeritus
Aisling Reynolds-Feighan graduated from University College, Dublin (UCD) with a BA in economics and geography in 1985. She earned an MA in economics the following year and then joined our department as a PhD student in Fall 1989. She was an exceptional student; at the conclusion of her departmental Prelim Exam, Art Getis and Jim Huff both commented on how impressive she was with Art wistfully hoping all our students could be so well-prepared.
I journeyed to Houston with Aisling to interview Continental Airlines in hopes that they would share data about the aircraft allocated to all their origin-destination routes. She wanted to develop an algorithm to show how the concept of network efficiency could be enhanced with information on capacity (measured by seat availability). With aircraft of different capacities, the issue is a complex one since aircraft positioning has to be considered over the potential 20-24 hours of deployment. Aisling was able to develop a algorithm that evaluated the system efficiency and offered steps to improve it. The airline executive staff were so impressed with her presentation that they prioritized the data assembly while we were in the office and Aisling received the data within a few days! This data was incorporated into her dissertation entitled Measuring the impact of network changes by the airlines in the deregulated environment.
Aisling began as an assistant professor at UCD in 1989 and rose to the rank of Professor of Transport Economics in 2007 (the promotion system is much slower in Ireland; until recently, a vacancy was necessary before someone could be considered for promotion). For three years (2018-2021), she also served as Vice Principal (Vice Chancellor in our system) for Research Innovation and Impact. Aisling has received a number of honors and awards. She has been Chairman of the British & Irish Section (RSAI-BIS) of the Regional Science Association International (2013-2017), was a founding member of the Irish Transportation Network (2009) and is an elected member of the IGU Transport Geography Commission (2021-2027). She became a Fellow of the Air Transport Research Society in 2018 and her innovation is research was recognized by the award of the Moss Madded Memorial Medal (RSAI-BIS) in 2007. She has been an active consultant for various governments in Europe (including the EU Commission) and is frequently interviewed on radio and television about transport-related projects.
Her research continues to be centered in airline network structures and has included a recent piece that analyzed the impacts of COVD-19 on airline schedule planning and service delivery over the period 2018-2022. Earlier work examined the problem of airline accessibility in depopulating European states, supply issues in transportation networks and an extensive comparative analysis of the network structures of major continental regions. Her work has been published in high quality journals such as Spatial Economic Analysis, Urban Studies, Journal of Air Transport Management, and Transport Research A. She has also been active is assisting younger scholars both within associations (at professional meetings) and in UCD.
Aisling has been incredibly proud of her connection with Illinois and never misses an opportunity to tell people she obtained her PhD there. She has made many visits back to campus; she also has a sentimental attached to the community since this is where she met her future husband (a Postdoc in Civil Engineering specializing in highways!). It was a great pleasure for me to serve as her advisor; as my first female PhD student, she set an incredibly high standard and her accomplishments certainly support her consideration for this award!