Dr. Ian Sue Wing, Professor of Earth and Environment at Boston University, has been appointed a Senior External Research Fellow at CREATE. He received his PhD from the Technology and Policy Program at MIT and is a former Rhodes Scholar. His core expertise is in the development and application of computational economic models to evaluate the risks, costs and consequences of a diverse array of natural hazards and other extreme events, with emphasis on the impacts of climate change on urban and regional economies. Much of his modeling work is in collaboration with CREATE Director, Adam Rose, with whom he has investigated the regional economic consequences of catastrophic atmospheric river storms, tsunamis, earthquakes and widespread long duration electric power interruptions. (Link, link, link, link, link)

Professor Sue Wing also led the Economy thrust in the Coastal Hazards, Economic Prosperity and Resilience (CHEER) project, a 9-institution, National Science Foundation-supported hub researching hurricane hazards and their social and economic impacts. Additionally, he is a collaborating researcher in the 11-institution US Dept. of Energy supported Program on Coupled Human Earth Systems (PCHES), which investigates the co-evolution of multiple hazards, population and the economy across the US West, and the Wellcome Trust supported CATCH program on urban heat risk and adaptation. His recent research includes empirical economic and engineering analyses to characterize the drivers and impacts of tropical cyclone and flood hazards, as well as investigating heat exposures, health impacts, and cooling adaptation—especially the adoption and use of air conditioning and consequences for energy systems. (Link, link, link, link, link, link)

Ian remarked: “I am honored and excited to join the USC CREATE Center as an External Fellow, and look forward to contributing to the Center’s mission and collaborating with faculty and staff on risk assessment, economic consequence analysis, and resilience research.”