{"686633":{"#nid":"686633","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Community Spotlight - Iris Tien","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ELast summer, when the City of Atlanta declared a \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2024\/06\/01\/us\/atlanta-ga-water-main-breaks\u0022\u003Estate of emergency\u003C\/a\u003E following multiple water main breaks that left parts of downtown without water, Iris Tien provided commentary to news outlets such as \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.gpb.org\/news\/2024\/06\/03\/georgia-today-water-woes-continue-in-atl-georgia-opts-out-of-summer-ebt-atl-united\u0022\u003EGPB\u003C\/a\u003E. Tien, the Williams Family Associate Professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, said the aging infrastructure is \u201csomething we see in Atlanta and other cities across the U.S. Most water systems are designed for 50 to 100 years.\u201d Much of Atlanta is well past that mark.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENow in her 11th year at Georgia Tech, Tien considers Atlanta an ideal environment for her work. \u201cBeing in a large metropolitan area has been great for collaborating with municipalities and utility providers,\u201d says Tien, who has worked with the Georgia Department of Transportation, the City of Atlanta\u2019s Department of Watershed Management, and Atlanta\u2019s Emergency Response Department.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETien considers resilience \u2014 withstanding and recovering from adverse events affecting communities \u2014 a key part of sustainability. Her research focuses on how to design better systems to meet community needs, especially under increasingly hazardous conditions where there is more strain on infrastructure.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETien serves as principal investigator for a \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/research.gatech.edu\/sustainability\/seed-grants\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 title=\u0022https:\/\/research.gatech.edu\/sustainability\/seed-grants\u0022\u003ESustainability Next Seed Grant\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;that is a collaborative effort between Georgia Tech and Oak Ridge National Laboratory to create a Climate Atlas for the southeastern U.S. The project integrates detailed climate data with critical infrastructure asset information, socioeconomic indicators, and stories of climate impacts on communities to support climate mitigation and adaptation. In addition, Tien has led projects to develop a framework to help communities identify the right kinds of flood-control infrastructure. Choosing the correct type of technology now is critical as sea levels and flood risk rise, especially in coastal areas.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETien says new technologies are leading to a better understanding and design of infrastructure systems, but have also exposed new vulnerabilities. Increasingly, she and her colleagues are considering potential cyberattacks on critical infrastructure, which represent a growing threat that could affect both utility providers and the people who rely on these essential services.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cFrom a civil engineering standpoint, if you disrupt any one of these systems, it could have a very large impact,\u201d says the Berkeley engineering graduate.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETien\u2019s expertise extends to Georgia\u2019s coast, where she is part of a team that hopes to increase community resilience in relation to flooding. \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/research.gatech.edu\/recent-funding-sea-level-sensor-project-savannah-moves-new-phase\u0022\u003EOne project\u003C\/a\u003E involves installing sea-level sensors throughout Chatham County, the easternmost county in Georgia. The sensors monitor water levels in real time. A Georgia Tech tool helps coastal areas find ideal spots for water-level sensors based on flood risk and population vulnerability.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe\u2019ve looked at green versus gray solutions,\u201d Tien said, explaining that green solutions could be ponds or basins to slow down water flow during flood events, while gray solutions might include new stormwater pipe systems to quickly move the water away.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBeing connected to BBISS through the Sustainability Next Seed Grant program has enhanced Tien\u2019s ability to work cross-functionally. \u201cI definitely collaborate with social scientists, especially on the human and community engagement side of my work,\u201d she says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA recent project involved developing a new flood-risk curriculum for middle school students in coastal communities. \u201cThe program helped build disaster resilience while empowering young people to be better advocates for their communities,\u201d says Tien.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThere\u2019s an opportunity to engage with youth early on and help them better understand their communities. Empowering them in this way means that they can serve as strong advocates for improving their communities into the future.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn her free time, Tien likes spending time outdoors, hiking, and playing an occasional pickup basketball game. \u201cBeing in nature gives you time to think and refresh yourself,\u201d she says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003E-- written by Anne Wainscott-Sargent\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Civil Engineer Champions Infrastructure Monitoring and Community Resilience"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETien considers resilience \u2014 withstanding and recovering from adverse events affecting communities \u2014 a key part of sustainability. Her research focuses on how to design better systems to meet community needs, especially under increasingly hazardous conditions where there is more strain on infrastructure.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Tien considers resilience a key part of sustainability. She focuses on how to design better systems to meet community needs."}],"uid":"27338","created_gmt":"2025-11-26 15:45:31","changed_gmt":"2026-04-08 16:17:09","author":"Brent Verrill","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2025-11-26T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2025-11-26T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"678724":{"id":"678724","type":"image","title":"Iris-Tien.jpg","body":null,"created":"1764172104","gmt_created":"2025-11-26 15:48:24","changed":"1764172104","gmt_changed":"2025-11-26 15:48:24","alt":"Portrait of Iris Tien","file":{"fid":"262794","name":"Iris-Tien.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/11\/26\/Iris-Tien.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/11\/26\/Iris-Tien.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":275493,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/11\/26\/Iris-Tien.jpg?itok=XYfbg9wN"}}},"media_ids":["678724"],"groups":[{"id":"244191","name":"Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems"}],"categories":[{"id":"194836","name":"Sustainability"}],"keywords":[{"id":"188360","name":"go-bbiss"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"194566","name":"Sustainable Systems"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brent.verrill@sustainable.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EBrent Verrill\u003C\/a\u003E, Research Communications Program Manager, BBISS\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["brent.verrill@sustainable.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}