Zahra Nourali

Ph.D., Biological Systems Engineering, Virginia Tech, 2023 (Expected)

M.Sc., Civil and Environmental Engineering, Amirkabir University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic), 2017

B.Sc., Civil Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST), 2014

January 2020 – present – Graduate Research Assistant, Department of Biological Systems Engineering, Virginia Tech

September 2014 – September 2019 – Graduate Research Assistant, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Amirkabir University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic)

• Alpha Epsilon Honor Society member. Issued by Department of Biological
• Systems Engineering, Virginia Tech · Mar 2021
• Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society member. Issued by Virginia Beta Chapter, Virginia Tech · Feb 2021
• Recipient of Pratt Fellowship, Department of Biological Systems Engineering, Virginia Tech, 2020
• Ranked 1st among M.Sc. students of Water Resources Engineering and Management, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Amirkabir University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic), 2017
• Member of National Organization for Development of Exceptional Talents (NODET)

I currently work on research assessing how climate change can affect complex coastal socio-ecological systems using complex systems methods in order to simulate and predict human-environment interactions. Particularly, I will investigate different impacts of chronic and extreme climatic events on coastal systems to characterize and simulate socioeconomic impacts of climate events, considering the fact that these impacts may vary based on geographical characteristics and locations. This research will leverage complex systems approaches to better capture the complexity and interdependence between hazardous physical events and social and economic dimensions of coastal systems. Three objectives are aimed for such investigations in this research: Assessing the relocation response of rural and urban municipalities to sea-level rise and repetitive flooding in coastal Virginia using agent-based modeling, developing data-analytic approaches to investigate the agricultural losses caused by extreme weather events in Delmarva peninsula, and predicting the future climatic risks to agricultural systems in Delmarva peninsula due to both chronic and extreme events.

• Nourali, Z., J.E. Shortridge, A. Bukvic, Y. Shao, J.L Irish, and A. Mitchell. 2021. Assessing the impact of flood-induced relocation on municipal viability across the rural-urban spectrum: an agent-based model of coastal Virginia under sea level rise. AGU Fall Meeting, 13- 17 December, New Orleans, Louisiana