I participated in 4th Spatial Data Science Symposium (SDSS 2023) as a distributed virtual meeting to demonstrate the research result from my masters's thesis. This Master's thesis analyzed the socio-economic impacts on building damages from Hurricane Ian in 2022, using NASA’s Damage Proxy Map and statistical analyses. The study highlighted spatial variations through geographicallyweighted regression in damage and socioeconomic inequalities, providing insights for improving community resilience and disaster preparedness. It was a great experience of me to meet renowned researchers in this virtual event.  

I had the opportunity to share a presentation on my ongoing research "Did Official Flood Maps Really Work in Hurricane Helene? Systematic Evaluation of Official Flood Maps with Groundtruth Observation" as part of the exciting session "Geospatial Data Science to Enhance Community Resilience to Urban Environmental Hazards" in AAG 2025 (Amercian Association of Geographers) at Detroit, Michigan.

Hurricane Helene brought devastating storm surge up to 18 feet, resulting in widespread flooding in in Tampa Bay area, Florida. As Hurricane Helene adversely affected Pinellas County, Florida, this study compares four common flood datasets including FEMA’s 100-year flood map, Fathom’s 100-year and 500-year flood maps, and FDEM evacuation zones with the simulated flood extent from the National Science Foundation (NSF) funded models. The aim of the study is to find out the accuracy of prediction for the actual extent of flood area and flood affected population. We selected three flood prone areas in Pinellas County; Long Bayou, Shore Acres and the University of South Florida (USF) St. Petersburg campus areas as the study areas where the rainfall and storm surge associated with Hurricane Helene led to serious inundations. This research, generously supported by the National Science Foundation, explores how well official flood maps (FEMA, FDEM, Fathom) aligned with real-world flooding during Hurricane Helene in Pinellas County, Florida — a step toward more climate-resilient, equitable flood modeling. 

At the 62nd Annual Meeting of the Florida Society of Geographers (FSG), 2026, I presented my ongoing project works titled, “Risk Concentration and Income Inequality in Florida Coastal Flood Hazard Zones: A Building-Scale Case Study of Pinellas County.”

This study investigates the relationship between the spatial patterns of in-migration and building characteristics and the underlying determinants of flood vulnerability hotspots in coastal Florida. Based on a regional analysis of 35 coastal counties in Florida and a county level building by building analysis in Pinellas County, the study reveal a striking paradox: wealthier populations are increasingly concentrated in high-risk flood zones, while vulnerable communities remain confined to aging structures lacking mitigation capacity.

The findings underscore that coastal flood vulnerability is not just a geographic or environmental issue-it is a fundamentally social and economic challenge, driven by real estate dynamics, migration patterns, and urban development decisions. This study intends to shed light on these inequities and inform more equitable flood risk management strategies for Florida’s rapidly changing coastline.

The 2026 AAG Annual Meeting in San Francisco was a memorable experience - filled with opportunities to learn, connect, and contribute to the geospatial research community. From hosting a session to presenting my ow- research, this conference reminded me why I love being part of this field. 

Hosting: GISER Symposium on Human-centered Assessments of Disaster Risk and Resilience

One of the highlights of the conference was the opportunity to host the session "GISER Symposium on Human-centered Assessments of Disaster Risk and Resilience." I extend my sincere thanks to the other organizing chairs,  Dr. Yi Qiang (University of South Florida), Dr. Barnali Dixon (University of South Florida) and Dr. Heng Cai (Texas A&M University), for their support in bringing it together.

The session brought together diverse perspectives on how emerging approaches,  ranging from GeoAI and big data analytics to digital twins are reshaping the way we understand disaster risk and resilience at human and neighborhood scales.

Presenting: Parcel-Level Social Vulnerability Assessment

I also had the privilege of presenting my research on parcel-level social vulnerability assessment as part of the session "Advancements in Population Synthesis for Human Dynamics Modeling," hosted by Dr. James Gaboardi (Oak Ridge National Laboratory), Dr. Joseph Tuccillo (Oak Ridge National Laboratory) and Elijah Knaap (University of California, Irvine).

My presentation introduced a framework that combines population synthesis, dasymetric mapping, and deep learning to downscale social vulnerability from census tracts to individual parcels. This precision matters for equitable disaster planning, emergency response, and targeted resource allocation.

Learning: Attending Sessions Across Themes 

Beyond hosting, I attended several sessions across different themes:

• Geospatial Analysis and GeoAI for E-Mobility - exploring how spatial technologies are transforming electric vehicle adoption and infrastructure planning

• Hurricanes I: Climatology - understanding the atmospheric science behind hurricane formation and intensification

• AAG 2026 Symposium on Spatial AI and Data Science: GeoAI for Multi-source Geospatial Data Fusion and Analysis - learning about advanced methods for integrating diverse geospatial datasets

• Hurricanes II: Societal Risk - examining how communities experience and respond to hurricane impacts

Each session offered fresh insights and sparked new ideas for my own research. The interdisciplinary nature of AAG never fails to inspire.

I serve as a peer reviewer for several international journals. My reviews focus on topics such as urban flood risk, disaster resilience, remote sensing, land subsidence, and social vulnerability. I bring expertise in GIS, spatial analysis, and climate adaptation. I regularly review research aligned with current global priorities in sustainablity and environmental risk management.

See more: PeerReviews