The lab has been shaped by the students and researchers who have called it home — engineers, planners, and social scientists working across the Asia-Pacific on some of the hardest problems in disaster risk and humanitarian response. Meet the people behind our research below, and see where they have gone next on our Alumni page.
Team
Lab Leadership
Dr Aaron Opdyke
Honorary Senior Lecturer in Humanitarian Engineering
Dr Aaron Opdyke is an Honorary Senior Lecturer in Humanitarian Engineering in the School of Civil Engineering at the University of Sydney. He has worked closely with governments and organisations across the Asia-Pacific region on resilient and sustainable infrastructure to address global development challenges. He holds a PhD (2017) and MS (2015) in Civil Engineering from the University of Colorado Boulder and a BS (2013) in Civil Engineering from California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo. Dr Opdyke was recognised as one of ten New Faces of Civil Engineering (2021) by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). He serves on the editorial board for the International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction. His research focuses on the interface of infrastructure and social systems, examining this nexus in disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation of the built environment.
Researchers
Grace Muir
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Grace’s research looks at the processes of disaster risk creation in the planning and design of housing and settlements in Indonesia.
Annika Burkhardt
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Annika’s research looks at how stakeholders are involved in coastal infrastructure projects and the effect of this participation on climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction outcomes.
