My research interests are in hazard, vulnerability and risk modeling for all natural hazards, with a particular focus on understanding the impact of disasters on cities. I am also interested in the modeling and communication of uncertainty as it relates to disaster risk, and the translation of science into policy. I use tools and methods from structural engineering, probabilistic hazard analysis, predictive modeling, geostatistics and other statistical methods to attempt novel and impactful research to promote resilient societies. I also work on the use of novel technologies for post-disaster damage assessment aimed at informing rapid, effective and equitable response and recovery. The multi-disciplinary and policy-oriented nature of my work has led him to build collaborations with the World Bank, the Red Cross, Google, USGS and others.

Hazard, Vulnerability, Risk and Resilience Analysis – Topics of interest include:

• Time-dependent risk modeling.
• Developing quantitative models of “resilience” (the ability of systems to recover from shock).
• Risk analysis at the urban and regional scale.
• Disaster impacts beyond fatalities and financial loss.
• Novel methods of fragility modeling.

Post-Disaster Impacts and Recovery – Topics of interest include:

• Remote sensing for post-disaster assessment.
• Crowd-sourcing for post-disaster assessment.
• Multi-data integration and geostatistics for post-disaster assessment.
• Resilient disaster recovery.