A interdisciplinary team of researchers, led by Y. C. Ethan Yang, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, has been awarded a $1 million grant by the National Science Foundation and the Japan Science and Technology Agency to fund research focusing on flood-prone areas in the U.S. and Japan. The project aims to enhance flood risk management through human-centered data analysis.

Utilizing a two-country partnership, the project will study the Kuma River in Japan and the Passaic River in New Jersey, employing catastrophe modeling to predict flood impacts and recovery. This approach builds upon work at Lehigh's Catastrophe Modeling Center.

One novel aspect involves gathering human-centered data via surveys to understand how different communities prepare for and respond to floods. The research, rooted in the Sendai Framework, seeks to build resilience and mitigate the impact of natural disasters worldwide. This collaborative effort underscores the importance of international cooperation in addressing increasingly severe climate-related hazards.

Read more on the Institute for Cyber Physical Infrastructure and Energy (I-CPIE) website.

Ethan Yang

Y.C. Ethan Yang, associate professor, civil and environmental engineering