Suggested Citation:
Bhat, Chandra R., Laurie A. Garrow, Patricia L. Mokhtarian (2008) Editorial:  Frank Koppelman's Contributions and Legacy to the Travel Demand Modeling Field. Transportation Research Part B 42 (3), 185 - 190

Frank Koppelman’s entry into the field of travel demand analysis and modeling research arose from his recognition that current practice in the field was not adequately based on a solid theoretical understanding of the behavior that motivated individual travelers. His undergraduate classmate, Marvin Manheim (in his later role as MIT professor), enabled him to go through a record fast track admission to MIT’s leading program in transportation planning and analysis. He left the Tri-State Planning Commission and entered MIT on two months’ notice in the fall of 1970. During his first year, Frank, Steven Lerman, and Uzi Landau joined together to understand and expand the Domencich and McFadden (1976) two line derivation of the multinomial logit model that Professor Moshe Ben-Akiva had introduced in their forecast travel analysis class. Many hours and notepads later, they arrived at the solution. What started out as an ordinary afternoon among friends was the beginning of what would become extraordinary careers for each of these individuals. It is with great pride that we recognize the accomplishments of one of these individuals, Frank S. Koppelman, as he retires from Northwestern University after 32 years of active service. We, the former and current doctoral students of Frank, are pleased to dedicate this special edition of Transportation Research – Part B in honor of his sustained contributions to the travel behavior field over more than three decades.