May 7, 2020
Professor Stephanie E. Chang joined UBC in January 2004 and has a joint appointment in the School of Community and Regional Planning and the Institute for Resources, Environment, and Sustainability. She held a Canada Research Chair (Tier 2) in Disaster Management and Urban Sustainability from 2004 to 2013, and currently serves as Co-Director of the Master of Engineering Leadership (MEL) in Urban Systems program. Much of Dr. Chang’s work aims to bridge the gap between engineering, natural sciences, and social sciences in addressing the complex issues of hazards and disasters. Her research has ranged from empirical investigation of major urban disasters to computer modelling and analysis of risk reduction strategies. She is particularly interested in issues of disaster recovery and resilience, urban infrastructure systems, climate change adaptation, and coastal cities.
Dr. Chang received her BSE in Civil Engineering (1989) from Princeton University and PhD in Regional Science (1994) from Cornell University. Prior to joining UBC, Dr. Chang was a research assistant professor in the Department of Geography at the University of Washington. She has also worked as a researcher/consultant with EQE International in Los Angeles and Seattle. Dr. Chang was awarded the 2001 Shah Family Innovation Prize by the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI), was EERI’s 2011 Distinguished Lecturer, and received the 2018 Distinguished Research Award from the Integrated Disaster Risk Management Society (IDRiM). She has served on the editorial boards of Earthquake Spectra and Environmental Hazards, as well as on the U.S. National Research Council’s Committee on Disaster Research in the Social Sciences and its Committee on Earthquake Resilience – Research, Implementation, and Outreach.