INSTAAR welcomes two new faculty fellows

Gabe Allen — Tue, 26 Aug 2025 21:31:58 +0000

INSTAAR welcomes two new faculty fellows Gabe Allen Tue, 08/26/2025 - 15:31

Gabe Allen

INSTAAR has hired two new faculty fellows, Laura Sunberg and Zhi Li. Both Sunberg and Li will join the department of civil, environmental and architectural engineering as assistant professors in addition to conducting research at INSTAAR.

Though Sunberg is new to her position, she is not new to INSTAAR. For the past two years, she has studied how microplastics circulate through the ocean during an NSF-funded postdoctoral position at the institute. Starting last year, she also served as the postdoc representative on the INSTAAR directorate, the institute’s governing body. As a faculty fellow, she will now rejoin the directorate as a voting member.

Sunberg will join a small, but growing cohort of INSTAAR researchers with expertise in environmental fluid mechanics. Institute leadership hope that her appointment will spark new collaborations and expand the institute’s focus on emerging environmental hazards.

“Dr. Sunberg’s novel laboratory and numerical modeling studies of microplastic and firebrand transport will expand INSTAAR’s research portfolio into new areas of growing environmental concern,” INSTAAR director Nicole Lovenduski said.

Zhi Li comes to INSTAAR after wrapping up a postdoctoral position at the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability. He is an expert in surface water modeling, with a particular focus on refining flood prediction methods. At INSTAAR, he also plans to establish a “collaboratory” aimed at understanding the overlapping impacts of climate change and flooding on agriculture, infrastructure and public health.

This summer, Li was quoted in multiple stories covering flash flooding across the U.S., including this New York Times article. Li will join a growing number of INSTAAR members studying climate-related extremes and hazards, an emerging focus area for the institute.

“Dr. Li will elevate INSTAAR’s research on climate-related extremes by bringing additional expertise on hydrology and flood impacts,” Lovenduski said. “His numerical modeling research will complement the CSDMS program, and his community efforts will enhance INSTAAR’s public engagement.”

Laura Sunberg, an expert in marine microplastic transport, and Zhi Li, an expert in flood modeling, are INSTAAR’s latest faculty members. Both researchers are also beginning professorships in the department of civil, environmental and architectural engineering.

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Why flood prediction in the US falls short and how researchers are working to fix it (��ñ�� Today)

Gabe Allen — Mon, 14 Jul 2025 20:11:19 +0000

Why flood prediction in the US falls short and how researchers are working to fix it (��ñ�� Today) Gabe Allen Mon, 07/14/2025 - 14:11

New INSTAAR faculty Zhi Li chats with ��ñ�� Today about flood modeling research. He explains why current flood warnings can leave communities unprepared — and how high-resolution forecasting and better risk communication could save lives.

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INSTAAR welcomes two new faculty fellows

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Why flood prediction in the US falls short and how researchers are working to fix it (��ñ���� Today)

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Why flood prediction in the US falls short and how researchers are working to fix it (��ñ�� Today)