Theses

The Bicycle Traffic team is available to supervise students writing a thesis within the study programmes:

Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes in Transportation Engineering (VWING) in the School of Architecture and Civil Engineering
Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes in Civil Engineering (BAUING) in the School of Architecture and Civil Engineering
Master’s programme on Computer Simulation in Science (CSIS) in the School of Mathematics and Natural Sciences

Here you will find a list of all completed theses supervised by our team and their respective summaries.

Research Area and Methods

We focus on the development of cycling research in the following three main areas:

basic research investigating bicycle traffic flow and behaviour
critical examinations of the benefits and risks of new technologies for cycling and cycling research
research exploring the best practices for bicycle infrastructure design, planning, and policy

Learn more about our research here.

Welcoming applications for supervision from all students interested in focusing on a cycling-related topic within these research areas, we are particularly keen to supervise students aiming to explore or employ field studies or simulation in their research. For example, we aim to supervise students who might:

Collect and analyze direct observational data of bicyclists’ behaviours and flows using our MioVision camera
Collect and analyze participant observational data of individual bicyclists’ experiences using our Go Pro cameras and GPS trackers
Develop micro- and macroscopic transportation models for bicycle traffic
Support the development of our bicycle simulator and test its application

Apply for supervision

Students are invited to apply for one of our open topics (listed below) or propose a other cycling-related research topics they would like to investigate through their bachelor’s or master’s thesis. Please contact us at least 3 months before your planned registration date to begin your research.

Before contacting us, please refer to the Prüfungsordnung for your study programme to confirm that you have completed (or will soon complete) all credit requirements to begin your thesis.

To apply for supervision, send an email to Matthias Schaarwächter with the following information:

Your study programme and planned registration date to begin your thesis.
The title of the open topic you are applying to write your thesis on, or the proposed title and a short description of the topic you are proposing.
An approved “Antrag auf Ausgabe einer Aufgabenstellung für eine Thesis”, provided by the Examination Office. (If you have not completed all credits but will before your planned registration date, please explain this in your email.)

Following a review of your application and an initial meeting with a potential supervisor, students must submit a short research exposé describing the proposed research in greater detail. A template for the exposé and guidance are provided to all students who contact us regarding the supervision of master’s and bachelor’s theses. The final determination on supervision is made based on the quality and relevance of the research proposed in the exposé.

Open Thesis Topics

The following topics are available for editing. The list is continuously updated and students can also contact us with their own suggestions according to the procedure described above.

Bachelor

Master

Completed Theses

Felix Heldmann (M.Sc. VWING): “Examining Effective and Safe Self-Explaining Design Elements in Bicycle Infrastructure through an Observational Study”
Supervisors: Univ.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. Heather Kaths, M.A. Cat Silva
Abstract (DE / EN)

Timo Schmidt (B.SC. VWING): “Modellierung der Wirkung des BUGA+ Radwegerings”
Supervisors: Univ.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. Heather Kaths, Dipl.-Ing. Leonard Arning
Abstract (DE / EN)

Faisal Hamood Bashar (M.Sc. VWING): “Erfassung, Analyse und Weiterentwicklung von Fahrradabstellanlagen im Stadtbezirk Köln-Porz”Supervisors: Univ.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. Supervisors: Univ.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. Heather Kaths, Dipl.-Ing. Leonard Arning
Abstract (DE / EN)

Insa Weisz (B.Sc. VWING): “Einfluss der Eltern auf das Mobilitätsverhalten von Schüler*innen unter besonderer Berücksichtigung des Radverkehrs”
Supervisors: Univ.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. Heather Kaths, M.A. Cat Silva
Abstract (DE / EN)

Johannes Fröhlich (M.Sc. VWING): “Verkehrsverhalten von Radfahrer*innen in Knotenpunkten”
Supervisors: Univ.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. Heather Kaths, M.Sc. Aboozar Roosta, M.Sc. Pia Dölling
Abstract (DE / EN)

Sara Idrissi (B.Sc. VWING): “Elemente in Knotenpunkten zur Führung des Radverkehrs”
Betreuer: Univ.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. Heather Kaths, Dipl.-Ing. Leonard Arning, M.Sc. Pia Dölling
Abstract (DE / EN)

Jonas Bayerl (B.Sc. VWING): “GPS-basierte Radverkehrsdaten - Analyse von Datenquellen für die Radverkehrsplanung und -forschung”
Supervisors: Univ.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. Heather Kaths, M.Sc. Mathis Titgemeyer
Abstract (DE / EN)

Maximilian Neuhoff (M.Sc. VWING): “Simulationsuntersuchung unterschiedlicher Knotenpunktausbauformen mit radverkehrsfreundlichem Fokus am Beispiel des Knotenpunktes Westring / Olshausenstraße im Stadtgebiet der schleswig-holsteinischen Landeshauptstadt Kiel”
Supervisors: Univ.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. Heather Kaths, M.Sc. Pia Dölling
Abstract (DE / EN)