This is a past event.

Environmental Engineering Graduate Seminar

Dr. Yi Liu, Coastal Engineer/Environmental Science Associates

Abstract: 
Presently, more than 40% of the world’s population lives within 100 kilometers of the coast. The growing population and expanding economic activity in the low-elevation coastal zone increase human vulnerability to sea level rise and various coastal hazards. A resilient coastal community is more informed and prepared to rebound quickly from hazardous events such as hurricanes, storms, flooding, and erosion. To that end, we introduce the concept of Smart Living Shorelines, which aims to take advantage of two essential means to achieve coastal resiliency: artificial intelligence and nature-based infrastructure. The rapidly growing capacities in machine learning and artificial intelligence in the current digital era provide numerous data and models that, when used appropriately, help to inform coastal management, planning, and design. Nature-based infrastructures that mimic natural processes help to decrease risks of flooding, erosion, and runoff, while providing additional economic, environmental, and social benefits. Adopting an AI-informed green strategy is an efficient and effective way to build resilient coastal communities. 

Bio:

Dr. Yi Liu received her Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from Virginia Tech in 2018 and has over 10 years of experience working in the field of coastal processes, hydrodynamic modeling, climate change, and data science. She was a Virginia Sea Grant fellow at Virginia Tech, where her research focused on the impact of sea level rise on storm surge along the northeast and Gulf coasts. She was awarded both an Edna Bailey Sussman internship fund and an exceptional merit award to work on a pilot study investigating how FEMA flood insurance maps would respond to sea level rise along the west Florida coast. After graduation, Dr. Liu was selected as a postdoctoral fellow with the Wisconsin Sea Grant and the Wisconsin Coastal Management Program, working with researchers, coastal managers, planners, and engineers to update the Coastal Processes Manual for the Great Lakes. Dr. Liu’s job was as a data scientist specializing in flooding at a Silicon Valley climate tech startup company, developing cloud-based models and data pipelines for real-time large-scale compound flood forecasts in Japan, including fluvial, pluvial, and coastal floods. Currently working as a coastal engineer at Environmental Science Associates, Dr. Liu has been involved in multiple projects focusing on green strategies for resilient shorelines.