SURGE Lab

Sustainability & Resilience in Global Environments (SURGE) Lab

Led by Dr. Roshanack (Roshi) Nateghi, Associate Professor, the Earth Commons, the SURGE Lab supports policymakers, planners, and communities in making informed decisions under uncertainty. By modeling the interactions among climate, infrastructure, and society, we develop data-driven methods that generate insights to mitigate climate risks and advance sustainable and resilient urban futures.

Disciplines

Disaster Resilience

Studying how communities and infrastructure can better withstand and recover from and adapt to extreme events, with an emphasis on strategies that promote long-term adaptation, resilience, and sustainability.

Risk Science

Developing methods to understand, quantify, and communicate risks, enabling decision-makers to make informed decisions under uncertainty.

Data Science and Engineering

Developing physics-aware and uncertainty-informed tools and models—drawing on engineering principles, machine learning, and statistical computing—to generate actionable insights for policy and planning.

Impact areas

Disaster Risk ReductionAdvancing methodological frameworks to assess and mitigate risks from natural hazards
Sustainable Smart CitiesIntegrating data-driven analytics and policy insights to support equitable and sustainable urban transformations
Resilient Access to Critical ServicesEnhancing the reliability of energy, water, and mobility services under conditions of climate extremes
Robust Decision-Making under UncertaintyDeveloping models and decision-support tools that enable effective planning in the face of deep uncertainty

We’re Hiring!

Interested in a postdoctoral fellow position at the Earth Commons? The SURGE Lab is hiring!

News & Stories

Read all

All, In the Press

Future of nation’s energy grid hurt by Trump’s funding cuts

The Trump administration’s widespread cancellation and freezing of clean energy funding is also hitting essential work to improve the nation’s power grid, says ECo Faculty Dr. Roshi Nateghi.

October 28, 2025

All, In the Press

The Texas blackouts showed how climate extremes threaten energy systems across the US

In my view, the events in Texas offer three important lessons for energy planners across the U.S.

March 2, 2021

All, In the Press

Disrupting Vulnerability Traps and Catalyzing Community Resilience

These investments will not only enhance stewardship of taxpayer dollars, create jobs and bolster the economy, but will also shrink the rapidly widening climate gap and save lives.

January 21, 2021

Publications

Explore a comprehensive database of Dr. Nateghi’s publications.

Contact us

Questions for the SURGE (Sustainability & Resilience in Global Environments) Lab? Email Roshi Nateghi: rn633@georgetown.edu

Get in touch