UBC Civil Faculty Among Recipients of Research Excellence Clusters Funded for 2024/25

For the full list of recipients, please visit UBC Applied Science.

The University of British Columbia (UBC) has announced its support for 45 research excellence clusters through the Research Excellence Clusters initiative for the year 2024/25. Among these, two standout clusters led by UBC Civil Engineering faculty are set to redefine the landscape of disaster resilience and infrastructure development.

One of these pioneering clusters, the UBC Disaster Resilience Research Network (DRRN), under the expert co-leadership of Dr. Carlos Molina Hutt and Dr. Sara Shneiderman, aims to foster transdisciplinary connections and delineate shared research objectives. The network aspires to inform disaster risk reduction policies and decision-making processes at both community and governance levels.

In 2023, the UBC Disaster Resilience Research Network formed an academic advisory panel to provide the Province with expert input, as the B.C. Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness embarks on provincial disaster and climate risk and resilience assessments.

“At UBC we have an incredible group of world-leading experts across the natural, applied and social sciences working to improve our understanding of disaster risk and build resilience,”  Dr. Molina-Hutt

With a focus on British Columbia while incorporating valuable international perspectives, the cluster seeks to advance multi-hazard assessment and mitigation strategies. Moreover, it endeavors to promote an inclusive and equitable development framework for disaster risk management.

As a novel addition to the Research Excellence Clusters, The Smart Infrastructure and Construction Research Cluster (SICRC) led by Dr. Tony Yang, embodies UBC’s commitment to innovation and advancement in civil engineering and construction technology. Bringing together a diverse team of experts from material and structural engineering, robotics, computer science, construction management, and infrastructure planning, this multidisciplinary cluster aims to address a myriad of pressing challenges facing the infrastructure and construction sectors. From tackling the housing crisis and labor shortages to mitigating the impacts of global warming on civil infrastructure, this cluster is committed to driving positive change on both regional and global scales.

By fostering collaboration across disciplines and leveraging diverse expertise, these initiatives promise to drive positive change and contribute significantly to addressing some of the most pressing challenges of our time. As the world looks towards academia for innovative solutions, UBC Civil stands at the forefront, leading the charge towards a more resilient and sustainable future.