People

Principal Investigator

Miyuki Hino

Principal Investigator

I am an environmental social scientist working on measuring and managing the impacts of climate change. My research examines the linkages between natural hazards, governance, and public policy to drive effective and equitable adaptation to climate change. Currently, I am an Associate Professor in the Department of City and Regional Planning and an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Environment, Ecology & Energy Program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

I received my Ph.D. from Stanford University's Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources (E-IPER) and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Yale University. Before Stanford, I spent several years supporting evidence-based climate change adaptation and mitigation decision-making, most recently at the New Climate Economy and ICF International.

Research Staff

Russell Blessing

Research Analyst

Isabel Kwass-Mason

Research Analyst

Department of City and Regional Planning

Graduate Students

James Collins

PhD Candidate

James is in the Department of City and Regional Planning. His research engages with coastal communities in North Carolina experiencing and responding to flooding.

He investigates how social, economic, and housing factors influence vulnerability and resilience, with projects on chronic coastal flooding, H-2A farmworker housing, and the long-term impacts of residential floodplain buyouts. His work aims to inform more equitable and effective strategies for hazard mitigation and climate adaptation.

Farrah Hasan

PhD Student

Farrah is a second-year PhD student at UNC Chapel Hill’s Department of City and Regional Planning. She has a broad research interest in climate migrant destinations as well as the roles of labor, water, and disasters in determining livability. Her Master’s thesis highlighted Mongla, Bangladesh as a case study on how cities can prepare their infrastructure and services for climate migrants.

Ruitian Yan

PhD Candidate

Ruitian is in the Environment, Ecology, and Energy Program (E3P) at UNC-Chapel Hill. Co-advised by Dr. Hino and Dr. Antonia Sebastian, Ruitian is interested in studying the social and financial impacts of flooding on housing. Prior to joining UNC, she worked in the financial sector on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) and climate risk management. She received her bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science from Brown University.