I am currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute for Risk Management and Insurance Innovation (IRMII) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, working with Dr. Greg Characklis. My research focuses on modeling and managing risks from natural disasters, particularly droughts and wildfires, by integrating engineering, economics, and data-driven AI methods. As climate change, urban expansion, and population growth jointly increase both the frequency of extreme events and the concentration of people and assets exposed to them, there is a growing need for models that move beyond physical hazard simulation to quantify economic losses and financial risk. A central goal of my work is to translate physical hazard dynamics into quantifiable financial risk, enabling practical mitigation tools such as derivatives, parametric insurance, and stress-testing frameworks for infrastructure, insurers, and communities.

Prior to UNC, I earned my Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Michigan, affiliated with the Center for Digital Asset Finance, where I worked with Dr. Peter Adriaens. My doctoral research examined how water-related climate risks propagate into financial markets, including municipal bonds and ESG-linked securities such as green bonds. Across this work, I combine causal inference, machine learning, and systems-based environmental modeling to better understand how extreme events reshape economic outcomes.

I am deeply motivated by academia as a space where rigorous research, open inquiry, and mentorship come together to address societally urgent challenges. I am particularly passionate about advancing natural disaster models that support real world decision-making, helping policymakers, utilities, insurers, and financial institutions better anticipate losses, evaluate mitigation strategies, and design resilient systems under deep uncertainty. Teaching and mentoring are central to my academic goals, and I enjoy working with students to develop quantitative, interdisciplinary tools for risk and resilience in coupled human–natural systems.

Before academia, I worked in the financial sector in the Greater New York area for three years, where I saw firsthand how markets price risk and respond to uncertainty. Earlier training in materials research during my master’s and undergraduate studies broadened my technical foundation.

Moving between finance and engineering made something clear to me: many of today’s environmental challenges, including drought, wildfire, and other extreme events, sit at the intersection of physical and financial systems. Addressing them requires both. My work focuses on bridging these domains to design more resilient infrastructure and practical/proactive risk-management tools for the most pressing environmental challenges.