Crowd of Two Million Expected for Obama Inauguration

Hani Mahmassani discusses some of the issues surrounding the large number of inaugural attendees.

January 25, 2009 | by Brendan Cosgrove

EVANSTON, Ill. --- A crowd of between 1.5 million and two million people is expected in Washington, D.C. for the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama. Hani Mahmassani, W. A. Patterson Distinguished Chair in Transportation, professor of civil and environmental engineering and director of the Transportation Center at Northwestern University, is an expert in the dynamics of large crowds and has advised a number of civil and military authorities on the inaugural crowd. He discusses some of the issues surrounding the large number of inaugural attendees.