Investigate | UC Disaster Resilience Network

Overview

UCDRN’s Investigate Pillar helps move disaster resilience research from promising ideas to practical impact. We incubate interdisciplinary initiatives, convene teams across campuses and sectors, support proposal development, and connect researchers with partners positioned to translate knowledge into action.

Our work spans disaster risk reduction, climate adaptation, wildfire resilience, public health, critical infrastructure, emerging technologies, and community-centered implementation. To date, UCDRN and its partners have helped leverage more than $2 million in research support, including early successes in wildfire resilience, atmospheric modeling, environmental monitoring, and prescribed fire research with local Chumash leadership in the Santa Barbara region, UC Nature, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and UC researchers.

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Looking Forward: UCDRN Research Armada

UCDRN is building the Research Armada: a coordinated network of leading University of California research centers designed to address society’s most complex and interconnected risks.

The Armada is bringing together expertise in artificial intelligence, earthquake resilience, wildfire science, cyber and data integrity, pandemic preparedness, antimicrobial resistance, One Health, climate adaptation, infrastructure resilience, and community-centered implementation. Supported by seed funding, proposal development, rapid-response capacity, shared infrastructure, and cross-sector partnerships, the Armada is designed to move ideas from campus to field.

By strengthening collaboration across campuses, disciplines, and sectors, the Research Armada will help position the University of California as a global leader in applied disaster resilience research while delivering practical benefits to the communities we serve.

FIAT LUX. UCDRN core leadership are in the process of turning the lights on, engaging key partners to raise our organization to new heights, as this elevated system-wide pillar promises an outsized return on investment in lives protected, systems stabilized, and resilience replicated regionally - with national and global implications. Founding members include:

The UCLA Adaptive Futures Hub will be a campus-wide platform linking UCLA’s strengths in environmental science, engineering, public health, urban policy, and climate adaptation with the expertise of utilities, insurers, technology firms, and community partners to manage disaster risk across California and the Pacific Rim. Anchored in the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability and aligned with the APRU Multi-Hazards Program, the Hub will provide seed funding, support interdisciplinary proposals, and integrate UC-wide educational programs to translate research into practice. By uniting UCLA institutes, schools, and international networks with industry and civic partners, it will accelerate rapid-response research, train the next generation of resilience professionals, and deliver practical solutions to both acute hazards like earthquakes and hurricanes and chronic climate-driven risks such as extreme heat, wildfire smoke, and energy disruptions - positioning UCLA as a leader in developing scalable, inclusive, and adaptive strategies for disaster resilience.

The UC San Diego Pandemic & Infectious Disease Resilience Center, led by Dr. Robert “Chip” Schooley - renowned for pioneering bacteriophage therapy - anchors UCDRN’s biological resilience pillar by advancing phage-based therapeutics, combating antimicrobial resistance, and scaling rapid-response capabilities for emerging infectious threats. Building on IPATH’s groundbreaking clinical trials and joined by UCSD’s PREPARE and CHARM programs, the Center develops next-generation antivirals and strategies against drug-resistant pathogens while embedding public health resilience into state and national planning. As part of UCDRN’s Applied Research Armada, it strengthens cross-hazard modeling through shared data systems, integrates pandemic resilience into workforce training, and convenes global stakeholders to align research with practice positioning UC San Diego at the forefront of pandemic preparedness and infectious disease resilience.

The UC Riverside AI-Enabled Earthquake Research and Policy Resilience Center will harness artificial intelligence to revolutionize earthquake science - from detecting small quakes and precursors to strengthening early warning, rupture modeling, and emergency response - while embedding results directly into building codes, policy, and resilience planning. Situated at the edge of the San Andreas and San Jacinto faults and supported by UCR’s RAISE Institute, the Center combines world-class seismology expertise with cutting-edge AI infrastructure and strong private, public, and educational partnerships, including Miyamoto International, CalOES, NASA, USGS, and Cal Poly. Through fellowships, rapid-response teams, and cross-sectoral collaborations, it will train the next generation of resilience leaders and integrate seamlessly into UCDRN’s research armada, ensuring that California’s communities, infrastructure, and lifelines are safer and more adaptive in the face of inevitable earthquakes and cascading disasters.

The UC Irvine Wildfire and Cascading Hazards Resilience Center will serve as UCDRN’s Southern California node, leveraging AI and Earth system science to predict, monitor, and respond to escalating wildfire risks and their cascading impacts such as flooding and debris flows. Building on frontier research including FIRE-Former, a transformer-based fire risk model, and the Fire Language Model integrating Earth observation, meteorology, and urban data UCI’s experts will fuse real-time sensing with advanced modeling to deliver actionable intelligence for emergency managers, utilities, and city planners. Located adjacent to high-risk fire corridors, UCI combines unique geographic advantage with leading expertise in wildfire science, AI, hydrology, and infrastructure resilience. Through seed-funded projects, stakeholder workshops, and collaborations with state and federal agencies, the Center will accelerate open-source tools, train the next generation of resilience professionals, and ensure science translates into scalable solutions that safeguard California’s communities, ecosystems, and lifelines against increasingly complex fire-driven disasters.

The UC Berkeley Resilience Initiative, led by Dr. Andrew Reddie at the Berkeley Risk & Security Lab, will anchor UCDRN’s cyber resilience efforts by harnessing wargaming, crisis simulation, and policy innovation to safeguard critical infrastructure against cyber, AI-enabled, and geopolitical threats. By modeling cascading disruptions - from cyberattacks and supply chain shocks to natural disasters - the initiative equips governments, industries, and communities with actionable strategies, confidence-building policies, and secure data systems to strengthen institutional readiness. Through workshops, cross-sector simulations, student training, and pilot deployments, it will integrate seamlessly with UCDRN nodes - protecting wildfire and earthquake monitoring networks, ensuring disaster database integrity, and advancing cyber-hardened modeling environments. Positioned at the nexus of technology, governance, and security, Berkeley’s center ensures that resilience infrastructure remains robust in a hyperconnected, risk-prone world.

The UC Merced Fire Resilience Center takes a human-centered approach to ending wildfire disasters by investigating why some communities suffer devastating losses and struggle to recover, and by testing tailored, multi-benefit solutions that match specific needs. Positioned at the base of the Sierra Nevada and deeply connected with Central Valley and foothill partners, the Center conducts cross-disciplinary research on wildfire impacts, climate justice, and ecosystem resilience - pursuing projects from using agriculture as fire buffers to rethinking federal recovery programs and identifying natural refuge zones. Through community events, student engagement, and partnerships with CALFIRE, Greenbelt Alliance, and the Sierra Foothill Conservancy, the Center emphasizes actionable strategies and equitable resilience. By expanding research capacity, developing a wildfire resilience toolkit, and growing its education programs, UC Merced is uniquely positioned to catalyze innovative, community-driven solutions that work for all Californians.

The UC Davis UCDRN Innovation Hub, housed in the One Health Institute and led by Dr. Woutrina Smith, will anchor the systemwide network with expertise in planetary health, resilient infrastructure, and climate-resilient agriculture. Building on decades of leadership in emergency preparedness, veterinary and wildlife response (OWCN, CVET), and strong ties to California’s agricultural sector, the Hub will integrate One Health science with innovations in climate-ready energy, water, and food systems to safeguard communities during disasters. Through living laboratories, rapid-deployment resilience corps, and UC ANR’s statewide extension network, UC Davis will pilot scalable solutions, bridge science with community action, and ensure equity for rural, underserved, and tribal communities. As a Northern California anchor, UC Davis will complement wildfire, cyber, and community-driven resilience nodes across UCDRN, making it a central driver of planetary health and disaster preparedness for California and beyond.