Natural Hazards Research & Education
Our Research Group
Our team, led by Dr. Pilkington, consists of researchers, of various levels, primarily affiliated with UNC Charlotte's College of Engineering.
We strive for trans-disciplinary thinking as well as real-world applications and implications to our research. Collaboration and cooperation with other departments and organizations is encouraged so that we may assess research problems holistically.
Our graduate researchers make ideas become reality, through vigorous analysis and modeling efforts . Following their degrees, graduates are interested in careers in both academia and industry.
The Team
Dr. Stephanie F. Pilkington, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Originally from New Hampshire, Dr. Pilkington is a civil engineer by training, receiving her Ph.D. and M.S. from Colorado State University and B.S. from Virginia Tech, and is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She has previously worked for the U.S. Air Force as an Environmental Restoration Program Manager (civilian). Her core research interests relate to meteorological natural hazards and how they affect communities. Her expertise is in community resilience to natural hazards and modeling hazard impact and recovery on a systems level. She has created multiple models using machine learning and artificial neural networks. Dr. Pilkington has also participated in damage surveys and is an avid storm chaser.
Pauline Karanja
Ph.D. Candidate
Originally from Kenya, Pauline is a Ph.D. student in the Infrastructure and Environmental Systems (INES) program. She is broadly interested in natural disasters and their effect on communities. Her current research focuses on wind events with a specific interest in exploring the interaction between infrastructure, social, and economic metrics in community resilience to tornadoes through historical data analysis. She holds a B.S. with honors in Construction Management from Anglia Ruskin University, England, and an M.S. in Construction and Facilities Management from UNC Charlotte. Her work experience traverses working for engineering firms both in Kenya and England, and facilities management for commercial banks in Kenya. Before starting her Ph.D., she worked as a project manager in disaster recovery management in New Jersey, hence her passion for research in natural disasters and their effects on communities.
Donny Ravelo
M.S. Graduate Research Assistant
A Virginia native, Donny is an early-entry M.S. student in the Construction & Facilities Management program at UNC-Charlotte and wrapping up his final year for a B.S.E.T. in Civil Engineering. With a background in wireless technology, Donny is assisting with the testing and evaluation of the Ghost Robotics legged ground drone. His focus is developing policy and standardization for the deployment of the ground drone in the immediate hours after a natural disaster.
Past Researchers
Lou Mamouni
Syed Hussain
M.S. Construction and Facilities Engineering
Undergraduate, Civil Engineering Technology
Thesis: Investigation the Influencer of Adoption and Implementation of Large-Scale Infrastructure Projects in Response to Flooding Hazards
Project: Analyzing historical MO severe wind events
Kumar Yelisetty
Sai Bharadwaj Reddy
M.S. Computer Science
M.S. Computer Science
Project: NCmHIL Model
Project: K-Niner
External Organizations
Dr. Pilkington greatly appreciates the influence of the multiple organizations she is associated with within the natural hazards and infrastructure disciplines, external to UNC Charlotte.
