Biography
Dr. Gustavo Garcia-Melero earned his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Cantabria, Spain. He holds an MS in Business Analytics from the University of Colorado Denver, as well as an MS in Instruments of Economic Analysis, an MS in International Commerce, Transportation and Communications, and a BS in Economics.
Dr. Garcia-Melero has two decades of professional experience applying machine learning, AI, and data science across industry, consulting, and academia.
He served for several years as a Lead Data Scientist in Fannie Mae's Department of Data Science and has also held positions as Senior Consultant and Head of Department at other organizations. His professional experience spans projects across the United States, Europe, South America, and the Middle East, including research and consulting projects valued at more than $25 million.
His 10 years of academic experience include appointments at FIU as an Adjunct Professor, the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso (PUCV) in Chile as an Assistant Professor, and the University of Cantabria in Spain as an Adjunct Professor. He also served as Director of Outreach at PUCV, where he received two awards for expanding international opportunities for faculty and students.
Dr. Garcia-Melero has taught more than 30 undergraduate and graduate courses, including Advanced Data Science, Introduction to Machine Learning, and Data Science for All. He has also mentored seven undergraduate and graduate capstone projects.
He has authored more than 25 book chapters, journal articles, and conference papers and contributed to 11 research projects. His research spans interdisciplinary areas including transportation demand, travel behavior, and transportation project procurement.
Dr. Garcia-Melero is a member of the American Economic Association and serves on several Transportation Research Board Committees, including those focused on Computational Methods and Analytics and Travel Behavior and Choices.
Awards & Honors
- 2020 Doctoral Thesis Award (Summa cum laude)
- 2017 V International Academic Collaboration Award
- 2017 IV International Academic Collaboration Award
- 2008 Department of Economics Scholarship
Education
- 2020 Ph.D., Economics: Instruments of Economic Analysis
- 2021 M.S., Business Analytics
- 2011 M.S., Economics: Instruments of Economic Analysis
- 2009 M.S., International Commerce, Transportation, and Communications
- 2008 B.S., Economics