Research Associate in Civil and Environmental Engineering

Postdoctoral Research Associate - Evacuation Behavior and Mobility Analysis

University of Virginia

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

We are seeking a Postdoctoral Research Associate (Postdoc) to support a growing body of work focused on understanding human mobility and behavioral responses during hazardous weather events. This research sits at the intersection of natural hazards, emergency management, spatial data science, and public policy, with the goal of generating actionable insights that improve how communities prepare for and respond to extreme weather events.

Research directions include studying the effectiveness of evacuation orders and warning systems across different event types and socioeconomic groups, investigating secondary impacts of weather-driven disruption on community access to critical services, and exploring the value of forecast information and real-time data sources in shaping protective decision-making. The Postdoc will join Dr. Shafiee-Jood's research group in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Virginia and collaborate closely with research partners at Texas A&M University to lead and contribute to projects spanning the development of a comprehensive database of evacuation orders and severe weather warnings, analysis of cell-phone mobility data to study behavioral responses, and integration of mobility data with survey methods to address representation gaps for underserved populations.

Key Responsibilities

The Postdoc will play a critical role in advancing our understanding of human mobility and behavioral responses during hazardous weather events, working at the intersection of large-scale data analysis, spatial computation, and emergency management. Working collaboratively with faculty and research partners at UVA and Texas A&M, the Postdoc will take ownership of research activities while contributing to the broader mission of the group.

Specific responsibilities include:

• Develop and maintain a comprehensive database of evacuation orders and severe weather warnings for hurricanes, wildfires, and flash floods across the United States
• Analyze large-scale cell-phone mobility datasets to estimate behavioral responses to hazardous weather information across diverse socioeconomic groups and event types
• Apply spatial and computational methods to examine mobility patterns, network disruption, and secondary impacts of extreme weather events on access to critical services
• Integrate mobility data with survey data to address representation gaps and develop a more complete picture of evacuation behavior in underserved communities
• Investigate the role of forecast accuracy, past event experience, and information framing on evacuation decision-making
• Explore emerging data sources such as navigation and crowd sourcing apps to study real-time behavioral responses to hazardous weather information
• Engage with emergency management partners and stakeholders to ensure research findings inform real-world decision support
• Synthesize and disseminate research findings through peer-reviewed publications, technical reports, and presentations
• Mentor graduate and undergraduate students and contribute to an inclusive and collaborative research environment
• Contribute to proposal development and identification of new funding opportunities

QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

Candidates must have a Ph.D. in civil engineering, transportation engineering, geography, urban planning, computer science, or a closely related field by the appointment start date. Candidates with expertise in one or more of the following areas will be given priority consideration:

• Large-scale mobility data analysis and human mobility modeling
• Computational geography, spatial analysis, or GIS
• Network analysis and transportation systems
• Machine learning, statistical modeling, or data-driven methods
• Econometrics or causal inference methods
• Emergency management, evacuation behavior, or natural hazard research

The successful candidate will demonstrate the ability to conduct independent research, communicate effectively across disciplinary boundaries, and work collaboratively with academic, government, and…