Congratulations to Dr. Melina Makris on her PhD!
On 16 April, Melina Makris successfully defended her doctoral thesis “Beyond the Seat: Exploring Passengers’ Ride Comfort in Cars” at Chalmers University of Technology.
In her research, Melina takes a fresh, passenger-centred perspective on ride comfort in cars – an area that has traditionally focused on drivers and physical discomfort. Through a series of empirical studies combining interviews, questionnaires and in-car observations, she explores how passengers experience comfort as a dynamic interplay between physical, psychological and functional dimensions.
Her work highlights the importance of perceived safety and control, as well as the role of activities during a journey, offering a more holistic understanding of ride comfort. The thesis also presents a new Passenger Ride Comfort Framework and tools that can support future research and the development of vehicle interiors.
Melina’s work has been carried out in close collaboration between academia and industry, with supervision from Prof. Anna-Lisa Osvalder, Chalmers, together with co-supervisors Dr. Katarina Bohman, Volvo Cars and Dr. Mikael Johansson, Chalmers.
The defence was examined by Prof. MariAnne Karlsson, Chalmers, with Prof. Peter Vink, TU Delft as opponent, and a grading committee consisting of Prof. Mikael Forsman, KTH, Docent Maria Krafft, Trafikverket and Prof. Jan Andersson, VTI.
We warmly congratulate Melina on this achievement and look forward to following her continued contributions to safer and more user-centred mobility.
