The Environmental Risk and Finance Lab (ERFL) at Florida International University (FIU), led by Dr. Dan Li, invites applications for a fully funded PhD position beginning in Fall 2027.
The position will focus on how hurricane winds and heavy rainfall damage buildings and translate into economic losses and household financial impacts. Research may examine structural and building-envelope damage, wind-driven rain intrusion, rainfall-driven flooding, and the combined effects of wind and water. The student will investigate how building characteristics, surrounding environmental conditions, and mitigation measures influence damage and recovery.
Our work combines physical hazard and vulnerability modeling with geospatial data, policy-level insurance loss records, statistical methods, and machine learning to improve hurricane risk assessment and inform mitigation and insurance decisions.
Potential Research Areas
The student will have flexibility to develop research around topics such as:
- Hurricane damage to buildings: Model how extreme winds, wind-driven rain, and heavy rainfall affect roofs, building envelopes, structures, and interior contents.
- Compound wind and water impacts: Investigate how wind damage creates pathways for rain intrusion and how rainfall-driven flooding contributes to hurricane losses.
- Building vulnerability and mitigation: Evaluate how roof characteristics, construction practices, building codes, and retrofits influence damage and insurance losses across hurricanes.
- Data-driven catastrophe modeling: Integrate physical models with property-level data, remote sensing, and insurance claims to improve damage and loss predictions.
- Economic and financial resilience: Examine how mitigation, insurance, and catastrophe risk transfer reduce losses borne by households and insurers
Desired Qualifications
- Bachelor’s or master’s degree in engineering, atmospheric science, hydrology, geoscience, applied mathematics, statistics, computer science, economics, or a related quantitative field.
- Strong programming and data-analysis skills; experience with Python, R, MATLAB, or similar languages is desirable.
- Interest in hurricane hazards, building vulnerability, wind and rainfall impacts, or catastrophe risk.
- Ability and motivation to conduct independent research and communicate scientific results clearly.
- Experience with GIS, remote sensing, numerical modeling, structural vulnerability, hydrologic modeling, statistics, or machine learning is helpful but not required.
Applicants are not expected to have expertise in every research area. Students with a strong quantitative background and an interest in connecting physical hurricane impacts with mitigation and financial resilience are encouraged to apply.
Funding and Program
The selected student will receive a graduate research assistantship that includes a stipend and tuition support. The student will join FIU’s Department of Earth and Environment and pursue doctoral training in Earth Systems Science in an interdisciplinary research environment.
How to Apply
Prospective students are encouraged to contact Dr. Dan Li before submitting the formal FIU application. Please send a single PDF containing:
- CV • Brief statement describing research interests and relevant experience
- Unofficial transcripts
- Names and contact information for 2–3 references
Email: dali@fiu.edu
Subject: PhD Application – Hurricane Risk – [Your Name]
Review of prospective applicants will begin [insert date] and continue until the position is filled. Candidates whose backgrounds align with the position will be contacted to discuss research opportunities and the formal FIU application process.
More information: Environmental Risk and Finance Lab: https://erfl-fiu.github.io/
https://case.fiu.edu/about/directory/profiles/li-dan.html