Preparing cities with effective emergency response to extreme weather

Luis Ortiz, Assistant Professor, Atmospheric, Oceanic and Earth Sciences (AOES), received funding for: “ClimateIQ.”

ClimateIQ is a modeling tool powered by physical models and artificial intelligence designed to help cities prepare effective emergency response and adaptation measures in the face of extreme weather. The project, funded by a $5M award from the Google.org Impact Challenge on Climate Innovation, will leverage the latest advances in urban climate physics and machine learning to engage directly with cities across the world. 

"Through ClimateIQ, we will significantly lower the barrier to entry for cities around the world to become more resilient to heat, flooding, and other hazards," Ortiz said. "We will scale our knowledge of urban hazards at spatial detail that would be prohibitively expensive for most communities, helping them adapt to the worst impacts of climate change."

Ortiz will participate in the ClimateIQ Project Leadership, and join quarterly meetings and other engagements, as needed. He will lead the ClimateIQ atmospheric hazards team, working closely with an Urban Heat Modeler at The New School to develop hyperlocal physics-based models of urban climate that will serve as training data for the ClimateIQ platform. Ortiz will supervise the Urban Heat Modeler, and work closely with a research assistant at Mason, as well as a cohort of Google employees, to assess modeling approaches and validate risk data with city partners and stakeholders.

Ortiz received $101,669 from Google.org through The New School for this project. Funding began in October 2023 and will end in late August 2026