People – Risk Decision Making

To advance hazards research through originality, rigor, integrity, and diligence

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Dr. Wanyun Shao

Associate Professor, Department of Geography & the Environment and the Institute for Social Science Research
Leadership Board Fellow, College of Arts & Sciences

Dr. Shao’s primary research interests are focused on the intersection of hazards, vulnerability, and risk decision making. Specific interests include: human dimension of climate change, risk perceptions, risk assessment community resilience, and public health. The interdisciplinary nature of her research leads her to work across traditional disciplinary lines. She has worked with scientists in a wide range of fields, including climatology, civil and environmental engineering, political science, sociology, communication, and economics. In her spare time, she loves reading books, hiking, biking, swimming, kayaking.

To learn more about her, please visit her personal website or go to the page PI’s biography.

POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCH FELLOW

Hemal Dey

Ph.D (2021 – 2025)

Hemal completed a Ph.D in Geography in the spring of 2025. His dissertation is entitled, “Towards a more comprehensive flood risk assessment using machine learning models: four case studies along the U.S. Gulf Coast.” He currently works as the postdoctoral research fellow. His current research is focused on natural hazard risk assessment using GIS , remote sensing, and machine learning techniques. He is particularly interested in flood risk modeling. While pursuing PhD, he was awarded the Graduate Council Fellowship at UA. He worked on multiple funded projects. He received the B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in Geography and Environment from Jagannath University, Dhaka, Bangladesh. He had been nominated for the National Science and Technology (NST) fellowship in Bangladesh. In his leisure time, he likes travelling, photography, sports and reading science fictions.

GRADUATE STUDENTS

Md. Munjurual Haque

Geography Ph.D Candidate

Munjurul is pursuing a PhD in the Department of Geography at the University of Alabama, USA. He is working as a graduate research assistant on coastal community vulnerability and resilience. He received the B.Sc. and MS degrees in Geography and Environment from the Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST), Sylhet, Bangladesh. He has been awarded the National Science and Technology (NST) fellowship under the Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh in the fiscal year 2018-2019. His current research is focused on natural hazards, especially flood vulnerability and resilience assessment using geospatial techniques and quantitative social science methods. In his leisure time, he loves to travel and play sports.

Fatema Tuz Johra Nourin

Geography Ph.D Candidate

Fatema Nourin is from Dhaka, Bangladesh. Growing up in a densely populated city, she experienced the common urban issues- traffic congestion, waterlogging, flash flooding, unemployment, crime, mismanaged waste disposal, etc. Fatema then complimented her urban experience with an undergrad degree in Urban and Regional Planning (URP) from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology. Since undergrad, Fatema developed an interest in using GIS as a research tool to address, visualize, estimate, and analyze urban and geographical issues. She became a GIS enthusiast during her graduate studies. Now, she is pursuing a Ph.D. in Geography at The University of Alabama and assisting Dr. Shao in her Coastal Community Resilience project. She is looking forward to applying her Community engagement experience and GIScience skills in her current project.

Annyca Tabassum

Geography Ph.D Student

Annyca Tabassum, originally from Bangladesh, is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in the Department of Geography and the Environment at the University of Alabama. Prior to this, she successfully obtained both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Geography and Environment from Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST). Her academic excellence led to her being awarded with a distinguished National Science and Technology (NST) fellowship by the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. She focuses her research on various subjects, including the utilization of geospatial and quantitative methodologies to assess hazard vulnerability, analyzing the changes in land use and land cover, as well as evaluating land surface temperatures using geospatial techniques. Her scholarly interests also extend to the field of sustainable urban development.

Emma Lowe

Geography Undergraduate Student

Emma currently works as an undergraduate research assistant and will start her Accelerated Master Program (AMP) in the spring of 2026. Her research interests are focused on understanding coastal community vulnerability and resilience. Her methods include document analysis and news article analysis.

Devin Hawkins

Geography Undergraduate Student

Devin currently works as an undergraduate research assistant and will start his Masters Program in the Spring of 2026. His research interests are focused on geospatial analysis and cartography using GIS and studying how communities are affected by and recover from flooding and severe weather. His other methods include conducting interviews and news article analysis.