Radhika Bhandari (User Spotlight January 2026)

Josh Alpers · January 9, 2026

Radhika Bhandari

Radhika Bhandari
Education: University of South Florida & Kathmandu University, Geography/ Geomatics Engineering

Current Employment: Dixie Metropolitan Planning Organization - Data Scientist

Greatest Interests about Travel Demand Modeling and Forecasting: I find it fascinating how the various components of demand modeling come together, with each aspect interconnected and influencing overall demand. Working on it is intellectually stimulating, and I enjoy this process.

Favorite Modeling Project(s): For the 2023 LRP/RTP, only about 900 of 12,000 Utah Tech enrollment records had in-county addresses, making direct spatial representation unrealistic. I applied and validated an inverse distance decay approach to better reflect actual enrollment patterns, and enjoyed working through the data gaps to find a practical solution.

Valuable Resources, Tools or Software: NCHRP Report 716, Conferences such as MOMO, ODOT Training on travel demand modeling

Hobbies and Interests: Outside of work, I enjoy dancing, hiking, trying new recipes and spending time with my boyfriend and family. I am also a dedicated practitioner of Kriya Yoga and Hatha Yoga.