CIEE is excited to welcome University of California, Davis Professor Michele Barbato as the new faculty director of the CITRIS Climate initiative.
Expanding the research scope from the former CITRIS Sustainable Infrastructures initiative, the new CITRIS Climate initiative holds multidisciplinary approaches to climate change at the core of its values and goals, looking to strengthen and build a community of researchers at the intersection of climate change research and information technology. It will also support the goal of carbon neutrality at the UC system level and beyond, with attention to issues of climate justice and equity to reduce the effects that are disproportionately experienced by underrepresented and underserved communities.
As faculty lead of CITRIS Climate, Barbato will foster multidisciplinary collaboration across the four UC CITRIS campuses—Berkeley, Davis, Merced, and Santa Cruz—to develop a robust research agenda on applications of information technology to mitigate harms from climate change and foster resilience. He believes that partnering with other well-established research units, such as the John Muir Institute of the Environment and the Air Quality Research Center at UC Davis, will further help the initiative in accomplishing its goals.
As a professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UC Davis, Barbato studied earthquake engineering as an undergraduate student in Italy and graduate student at UC San Diego. His current work focuses on the modeling, analysis, and design of structures subject to single and multiple hazards. In his research, Barbato examines the interface between high-fidelity finite element modeling and advanced probabilistic methods to develop novel design approaches and structural solutions based on innovative, sustainable materials and construction techniques. The results lead to new designs and structures that (1) are sustainable, economic, and safe; (2) increase community resilience to single and multiple hazards; and (3) support societal efforts in climate change mitigation and adaptation.
Read more about Barbato’s research here:
What Does It Take to Build a Disaster-Proof House?
Can we fireproof our houses?
