Postdoctoral Fellow - Center for Urban Resilience & Analytics (CURA)

Overview
Georgia Tech prides itself on its technological resources, collaborations, high-quality student body, and its commitment to building an outstanding and diverse community of learning, discovery, and creation. We strongly encourage applicants whose values align with our institutional values, as outlined in our Strategic Plan. These values include academic excellence, diversity of thought and experience, inquiry and innovation, collaboration and community, and ethical behavior and stewardship. Georgia Tech has policies to promote a healthy work-life balance and is aware that attracting faculty may require meeting the needs of two careers.

About Georgia Tech
Georgia Tech is a top-ranked public research university situated in the heart of Atlanta, a diverse and vibrant city with numerous economic and cultural strengths. The Institute serves more than 45,000 students through top-ranked undergraduate, graduate, and executive programs in engineering, computing, science, business, design, and liberal arts. Georgia Tech's faculty attracted more than $1.4 billion in research awards this past year in fields ranging from biomedical technology to artificial intelligence, energy, sustainability, semiconductors, neuroscience, and national security. Georgia Tech ranks among the nation's top 20 universities for research and development spending and No. 1 among institutions without a medical school.

Georgia Tech's Mission and Values
Georgia Tech's mission is to develop leaders who advance technology and improve the human condition. The Institute has nine key values that are foundational to everything we do:

1. Students are our top priority.
2. We strive for excellence.
3. We thrive on diversity.
4. We celebrate collaboration.
5. We champion innovation.
6. We safeguard freedom of inquiry and expression.
7. We nurture the wellbeing of our community.
8. We act ethically.
9. We are responsible stewards.

Over the next decade, Georgia Tech will become an example of inclusive innovation, a leading technological research university of unmatched scale, relentlessly committed to serving the public good; breaking new ground in addressing the biggest local, national, and global challenges and opportunities of our time; making technology broadly accessible; and developing exceptional, principled leaders from all backgrounds ready to produce novel ideas and create solutions with real human impact.

About the Center for Urban Resilience and Analytics (CURA)
The Center for Urban Resilience and Analytics (CURA) is Georgia Tech's hub for research at the intersection of urban resilience, climate adaptation, and spatial data analytics. Formed in 2025 through the strategic integration of the Center for Spatial Planning Analytics and Visualization (CSPAV), the Center for Quality Growth and Regional Development (CQGRD), and the Urban Climate Lab (UCL), CURA brings together decades of expertise to address the most urgent challenges facing cities today.

We focus on strengthening cities' ability to adapt and thrive amid environmental, social, and economic stressors -- from extreme heat and flooding to housing instability and infrastructure strain. By combining advanced spatial data tools, policy insights, and interdisciplinary research, CURA equips communities with strategies to build resilience and equity into the urban fabric.

CURA projects span high-resolution urban heat mapping, climate equity planning, 3D scenario modeling, energy footprinting, and public health analytics. These efforts directly inform planning and policymaking in cities like Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, and San Francisco -- and increasingly, communities across the globe.

As we look ahead, CURA continues to expand its partnerships with faculty labs, public agencies, and global collaborators. Together, we are reimagining what cities can be -- and how they can endure.

The Center for Urban Resilience and Analytics (CURA) (https://resilience.research.gatech.edu/) in Georgia Tech's College of Design seeks a postdoctoral fellow for a position starting in Fall 2025. The successful candidate will be a junior researcher with a Ph.D. in any relevant field with strong background in urban planning, urban climate, GIS, and urban analytics. Demonstrated knowledge of geospatial analytics, machine learning, and AI are required with a preferred background of research at the intersection of urban climate and infrastructure resilience. This position will be a one-year appointment with the possibility of extension for an additional year based on performance.

The postdoctoral fellow will be expected to:

• Contribute to cutting-edge research aimed at enhancing the resilience of critical infrastructure systems against threats from climate related disruptions
• Work on advancing the methods and tools to improve the understanding of infrastructure resilience and participate in the existing CURA teams working on urban flooding, urban energy footprinting, urban transportation infrastructure, and urban sensing
• Develop new project ideas as well as participate in proposal development for extramural funding. This position offers a unique opportunity to work on interdisciplinary projects in collaboration with leading experts at Georgia Tech and beyond.

1. Ph.D. in urban planning, GIS, computational data sciences and engineering, geography, or equivalent field

Preferred applicants will have the following qualifications:

1. Knowledge of infrastructure systems, including energy, transportation, water, and their interactions with human behavior, social, and economic factors
2. Demonstrated proficiency in quantitative analysis, geospatial analytics, mathematical modeling, data science and/or simulation techniques
3. Experience with programming languages such as Python, R, Javascript, and relevant tools and frameworks for data analysis and machine learning
4. Experience working collaboratively in version control systems for source code management such as Git/GitHub
5. Experience with cloud computing platform such as AWS, Azure, etc.
6. Excellent written and verbal communication skills including a record of peer-reviewed publications
7. Ability to function well in a fast-paced research environment, set priorities to accomplish multiple tasks within deadlines, and adapt to ever changing needs
8. Ability to collaborate effectively with colleagues from diverse backgrounds and present technical information to different audiences

• Curriculum vitae
• Letter of interest (cover letter)
• List of names and contact information of three (3) references

Application materials should be submitted as .PDF files. Applications will be considered beginning August 18, 2025 but the search will continue until the position is filled. An earned doctorate is required by the start of the appointment, and a background check must be completed prior to beginning employment.

For inquiries regarding this position, please contact Dr. Subhro Guhathakurta, Executive Director of Center for Urban Resilience & Analytics and Harry West Professor of City & Regional Planning at subhro.guha@design.gatech.edu

The University System of Georgia is comprised of our 26 institutions of higher education and learning as well as the System Office. Our USG Statement of Core Values are Integrity, Excellence, Accountability, and Respect. These values serve as the foundation for all that we do as an organization, and each USG community member is responsible for demonstrating and upholding these standards. More details on the USG Statement of Core Values and Code of Conduct are available in USG Board Policy 8.2.18.1.2 and can be found on-line at https://www.usg.edu/policymanual/section8/C224/#p8.2.18_personnel_conduct.

Additionally, USG supports Freedom of Expression as stated in Board Policy 6.5 Freedom of Expression and Academic Freedom found on-line at https://www.usg.edu/policymanual/section6/C2653.

The Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. The University is committed to maintaining a fair and respectful environment for all. To that end, and in accordance with federal and state law, Board of Regents policy, and University policy, Georgia Tech provides equal opportunity to all faculty, staff, students, and all other members of the Georgia Tech community, including applicants for admission and/or employment, contractors, volunteers, and participants in institutional programs, activities, or services. Georgia Tech complies with all applicable laws and regulations governing equal opportunity in the workplace and in educational activities.

Georgia Tech prohibits discrimination, including discriminatory harassment, on the basis of race, ethnicity, ancestry, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, age, disability, genetics, or veteran status in its programs, activities, employment, and admissions. This prohibition applies to faculty, staff, students, and all other members of the Georgia Tech community, including affiliates, invitees, and guests. Further, Georgia Tech prohibits citizenship status, immigration status, and national origin discrimination in hiring, firing, and recruitment, except where such restrictions are required in order to comply with law, regulation, executive order, or Attorney General directive, or where they are required by Federal, State, or local government contract.

More information on these policies can be found here: https://www.usg.edu/policymanual/section6/c2714 Board of Regents Policy Manual | University System of Georgia (usg.edu).

This is not a supervisory position.
This position does not have any financial responsibilities.
This position will not be required to drive.
This role is not considered a position of trust.
This position does not require a purchasing card (P-Card).
This position will not travel.
This position does not require security clearance.
This position is located in Atlanta, GA

Successful candidate must be able to pass a background check. Please visit http://policylibrary.gatech.edu/employment/pre-employment-screening