Today we’d like to introduce one of our newer IRIS affiliates, Qiong Wang, an Assistant Professor in the College of Environment and Design, through a Q&A on her research.

Qiong joined IRIS in the spring of 2025–and one year later, her team’s project, AI-Driven Decision Support Platform for Smart Disaster Resilience Planning, was selected for the Presidential Interdisciplinary Seed Grant. Learn more about the project here: Newest round of Presidential Interdisciplinary Seed Grants announced – UGA Today and CED-Led Project Receives Presidential Interdisciplinary Seed Grant – UGA College of Environment + Design.

How did you first become interested in climate resilience?

My interest in climate resilience began during my college years and continued to grow while I was working as a landscape architect at AECOM. Being involved in large-scale planning and design projects gave me firsthand insight into the real-world impacts of climate change, especially in areas vulnerable to flooding and ecological disruption. I had the chance to work closely with public officials, engineers, planners, and designers, which helped me realize how essential interdisciplinary collaboration is when tackling complex environmental challenges. These experiences motivated me to shift toward research that connects environmental design, planning, and policy. So that we can better support communities as they face an increasingly uncertain climate future.

Tell me about the path that brought you to where you are now:

My background across contrasting climatic regions, from cold-temperate to humid subtropical, has shaped my understanding of diverse landscapes and environmental challenges. Looking back, those early experiences probably sparked my interest in how human systems and the environment interact. During my Ph.D., I was a fellow in an NSF Research Traineeship (NRT) program focused on disaster resilience and risk management. That opportunity gave me interdisciplinary training that connected research with real-world practice, allowing me to explore both the social and technical sides of resilience planning and policy. As part of my doctoral research, I studied the adoption of flood mitigation policies (e.g., property buyout program) at the local level. As a former Virginia Sea Grant Graduate Research Fellow, I supported the City of Norfolk in modifying its resilience-focused zoning ordinance.

What does your work center on?

My current work centers on two key questions: How can we use emerging technologies and community-driven approaches to improve climate adaptation planning? And what nature-based solutions can effectively reduce flood risk while providing evidence to support local decision-making? Now, I’m excited to build on that foundation through my teaching and research, using emerging tools like AI, engineering modeling, and geospatial tools to generate evidence that supports climate adaptation and disaster resilience planning and design. I am also interested in translating research into real-world impact through service-learning projects that bring students and communities together to envision and build more resilient futures.

If you had three things that every person could know about your work, they would be:

• My work sits at the intersection of landscape architecture, urban planning, and environmental policy, turning research into real-world impact through community-based design and nature-based solutions.
• I founded the Resilience Lab at the College of Environment and Design, where we explore cutting-edge tools such as AI, engineering modeling, geospatial technologies, and 3D printing to advance adaptive resilience in environmental design and planning.
• I’m passionate about using service-learning and interdisciplinary collaboration to connect scientific knowledge with community needs and design/planning practices.

What is one thing you wish the public could know about climate scientists?

We are not just collecting and analyzing data. We are also collaborating with communities on the ground, learning from their experiences, and co-creating solutions that are practical and rooted in place.