Community News submitted by: Deden Rukmana
The Master of City and Regional Planning (MCRP) program at the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) is delighted to welcome three new faculty members who joined us at the start of the Fall 2025 semester: Dr. Wei Zhai (Associate Professor), Dr. Malini Roy (Assistant Professor), and Dr. Xueyin Bai (Assistant Professor of Practice with a joint appointment in the Landscape Architecture program). Each brings unique expertise and fresh perspectives that will enrich the MCRP curriculum, expand research opportunities, and strengthen connections with the planning profession. Together, they represent an exciting new chapter in the growth and impact of the MCRP program.
Dr. Wei Zhai earned his Ph.D. in Urban and Regional Planning and a Master’s degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Florida. Before joining UTA, he served as an Assistant Professor of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Texas at San Antonio. His research interests center on how to make cities smart and resilient in the face of local and global environmental change. He leverages emerging big data and responsible AI to re-examine climate resilience in the context of flooding, hurricanes, extreme heat, and other climate-related events.
Dr. Malini Roy holds a PhD in Urban and Regional Sciences from Texas A&M University, where her dissertation investigated flood resilience planning in Houston after Hurricane Harvey. She is an urban planner with expertise in land use and environmental planning. Applying a network lens to urban plans, policies, and actors, her research seeks to help global communities address interlinked challenges associated with protecting critical habitats, delivering infrastructure, and enabling livability in the face of uncertain environmental challenges. Before joining UTA, she was a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Arizona, where she studied heat and multi-hazard resilience planning.
Dr. Xueyin Bai received her PhD in Urban Planning from the University of Florida, where she was a Research Assistant at the Center for Health and the Built Environment. Her research and teaching are dedicated to understanding human behavior and improving environmental health through the application of Urban Analytics and Geodesign. Prior to UTA, she served as an Assistant Professor of Instruction and Graduate Advisor of Record for the Urban and Regional Planning program at the University of Texas at San Antonio.
The MCRP program has been the only PAB-accredited planning program in the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) Metroplex since 1988, serving the nation’s fourth-largest metropolitan area and beyond. Located in the heart of DFW, the program offers students access to a dynamic urban region and numerous employment opportunities in planning and related fields. For more information about the program, please contact Dr. Deden Rukmana, Director of the MCRP Program, at [email protected]
