Climate Risk & Resilience Summit: Building an Industry-University Partnership: In collaboration with the University of Georgia, RESILE organized a major summit in Atlanta (September 8–10, 2024) that brought together over 110 participants from more than 60 organizations, spanning industry, academia, government, and the nonprofit sector. The event featured interactive pitch sessions, innovation labs, student poster presentations, policy dialogues with NSF and NOAA, and curated networking experiences. Funded in part by an NSF planning grant and over $40,000 in additional institutional support, the summit exemplified the cross-sector energy and partnership model that RESILE seeks to cultivate and scale.
NSF Boot Camp on Industry Needs for Climate Risk Research: As part of an NSF-led six-week Boot Camp, RESILE researchers conducted in-depth interviews with dozens of insurance and climate resilience companies to identify research gaps, innovation priorities, and partnership opportunities. Findings were synthesized in a whitepaper titled “Climate Risk and Resilience: Industry’s Challenges and CIRCAD’s Role.” The Boot Camp also focused on CIRCAD planning and sponsor engagement, helping to shape our industry strategy and offering insights into how RESILE can align its tools and data with private-sector needs.
Launch of CIRCAD (Center for Innovation in Risk, Catastrophes, and Decisions): RESILE led the successful proposal and launch of CIRCAD, a National Science Foundation (NSF) Industry–University Collaborative Research Center (IUCRC) focused on climate risk analytics for the insurance sector. Developed in partnership with the University of Georgia and supported by dues-paying industry members, CIRCAD brings together academic researchers, insurers, reinsurers, and financial institutions to advance tools for catastrophe modeling, resilience valuation, and financial risk management. RESILE serves as the lead entity, providing intellectual leadership, industry engagement strategy, and student training pathways. CIRCAD’s research priorities, including parametric insurance, portfolio analytics, and compound hazard modeling will generate shared tools and workflows that expand the platform’s utility for both academic and industry users.
