Faculty Directory

OFFICE HOURS (Fall 2026)

• Thursdays, 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM (in office)
• By appointment

Climate change, underinvestment, and poor policy and planning is challenging the reliability of US infrastructure. While the effects are felt broadly – from sustained power outages to flooded roads to prolonged school closures – the impacts are uneven. I mentor a team of engineering graduate researchers, and together, we produce evidence-based research on effective infrastructure policy and engineering design that results in less risk in the built environment. I was initially trained in network theory and operations research, and over the past decade and a half, I have incorporated elements of data science, signal processing, and risk science into my work. 

My research is highly interdisciplinary and deeply collaborative. As an example, I lead a team of coastal hydrologists, economists, public health experts, and microbiologists on identifying effective policy for reducing the risk of failing septic systems in areas prone to sea-level rise in Maryland. By partnering with a housing and sanitation non-profit, our work has identified where to target resources for pumping and has provided light on the delicate balance between investing in sewer expansion while not codifying growth in high-hazard areas. I also lead a small team of researchers focused on the potential benefits of rebuilding housing more sustainably after disasters. Through a DOE grant and using the lens of Houston, TX, a graduate student and I have computationally recreated the thermal efficiency and energy properties of the housing stock. With the support of flood hazard modelers, we have quantified how adopting modern energy conservation code during the rebuilding phases of disasters could reduce peak energy demand by 2-3% - enough at times to stave off brownouts during temperature extremes. This has led to a large project in partnership with the American Red Cross and funded by the Sloan Foundation for testing energy efficiency inventions at scale during the disaster rebuilding process. 

I am also a scholar in the field of U.S. disaster policy, particularly in terms of how the U.S. uses disaster and mitigation funds to invest in infrastructure. My work has repeatedly exposed instances of how disaster policy favors high-capacity, high-income communities, and demonstrated how this leads to more reliable infrastructure in these areas - further widening the gulf among the economic strata in the U.S. More recently, I have teamed with economists, lawyers, and experts in public administration to envision how disaster policy could be designed to work for everyone. 



 

I am the recipient of a 2022 NSF CAREER Award, and a 2019 National Academy of Science Gulf Coast Research Early-Career Fellowship. I am currently an associate editor in the area of risk and resilience for the ASCE Journal of Infrastructure Systems, for Decision Analysis (INFORMS), and for the International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters. I am also an editorial boardmember for the journals Risk Analysis and Decision Analysis. I was a research fellow at the University of Michigan and a post-doctoral researcher at Johns Hopkins University and was a research analyst for a federally-funded research and development center in support of the Department of Homeland Security. I hold an MS and Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from Cornell University and a BS in Civil Engineering from Johns Hopkins University. 

• Risk assessments and risk management for infrastructure 
• Adaptative decision making under deep uncerainty
• Infrastructure system performance and protection

• ENCE 302 Probability and Statistics for Civil and Environmental Engineers
• ENCE 430/632 Resilience of Infrastructure Systems

Since 2021

• Hahn, M. B., Beyer, K., Hood, D. B., Malone, M., Nuño, M. A., Reilly, A. C., Reilly, ... & Levy, J. I. (2026). Ethical and scientific consequences of abrupt federal grant terminations in community-engaged environmental health research. Annals of Epidemiology, 110264.
• Miao, Q., M. Bremer, W. Guo, S. Zhou, and A. C. Reilly. (2026). Rebuilding Greener? Green Building Diffusion After Extreme Weather Events. Environmental Science & Technology, [accepted].
• Miao, Q., K., Best, A.C. Reilly, and M. Davlasheridze. (2026). “Disaster Aid and Rental Assistance: Examining Federal Housing Support for Homeowners and Renters After Disasters.” International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 106259.
•  Abbasi, D., Z. Pagen Cajigas, S. Guikema, R. Nateghi, R., and A. C. Reilly. (2026). Climate-Informed Projections of Hurricane-Driven Prolonged Unplanned School Closures across U.S. Coastal Districts. Climatic Change, 179(6), 136.
• He, Q., K. Best, A. C. Reilly, and D. Niemeier (2026). “How do Hurricanes and Federal Aid Affect Eviction Risk? Multi-year Evidence from Coastal U.S. Counties” Journal of Planning Education and Research, 0739456X261458761.
• Logan, T., B. Rachunok, K. Hardaway, D. Bristow, A. C. Reilly, D. Johnson, J. Johansson, G. Cremen, J. Boakye, and P. Schweizer. (2026). “Assessing Risk in and Across Complex, Interdependent Systems: A Research Agenda for Systemic Risk.” Risk Analysis, 46(5), e70243.
• de Souza de Lima, A., M.A. Walls, Y. Liao, E. DeAngeli, A. C. Reilly, N. Boyd, A. Lazur, P.J. Ruess, and Celso M. Ferreira. (2026). “Estimating the impacts of recurrent and expanding coastal flooding on septic systems in Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay.” Climatic Change, 179(80).
• Hausmann, H., T. Tomiczek, A. C. Reilly, and D. Niemeier. (2026). “Eastern United States: Potential Range for Ecologically Based Coastal Defenses in 2100,” Global Change Biology, e70008.
• Best K., Q. He, D. Niemeier, A. C. Reilly, A.B. Flores, D. Gu, J. Howell, D.R. Johnson, Y. Liao, A. Rumbach, T. Sheldon, A.R. Siders, A. Snyder, G. Wong-Parodi, R. Young. (2025). “Bridging Community Resilience and Local Planning for Climate Justice.” Climate Risk Management. 100776.
• Abbasi, D., S. Safari, R. Nateghi, R., & A. C. Reilly. (2025). Data on hurricane-induced unplanned school closures in the East and Gulf Coast of the US. Data in Brief, 112186.
• Waters, L., L. Grimley, D. Abbasi, A. Sebastian, R. Nateghi, and A. C. Reilly. (2025). “Building Back Greener: Quantifying Residential Building Decarbonization Opportunities Following Floods” Energy and Buildings, 116244.
• Abbasi, D., S. Safari, R. Nateghi, and A. C. Reilly (2025). “Learning after the storm: Characterizing and Understanding Prolonged Unplanned School Closures After Hurricanes” International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 105611.
• Miao, Q., M. Davlasheridze, and A. C. Reilly. (2025). “Where did the money go? Assessing the Distribution of the Community Development Block Grant - Disasters Recovery Funds.” American Review of Public Administration, 02750740241308272.
• Miao, Q., M. Davlasheridze, and A. C. Reilly. (2024) “Assessing Social Equity of Federal Disaster Aid Distribution: A County-level Analysis” Risk Analysis, [accepted].
• Alves, P. B., Amanguah, E., McNally, D., Espinoza, M., Ghaedi, H., Reilly, A. C., & Hendricks, M. D. (2024). Navigating the definition of urban flooding: A conceptual and systematic review of the literature. Water Science & Technology, wst2024351.
• Ghaedi, H., K. Best, A. C. Reilly, and D. Niemeier. (2024). “Statistical learning to identify salient factors influencing FEMA Public Assistance outlays.” Natural Hazards, 1-24. DOI: 10.1007/s11069-024-06620
• Waters, L., K.B. Best, Q. Miao, M. Davlasheridze, and A. C. Reilly. (2024) “Underreported and underserved: Disparities in the US Aid-to-Damage Ratios after Hurricanes” International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 106, 104430. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijdrr.2024.104430
• Gerst, M. D., M. Coelho, M. Yazdi-Samadi, A. C. Reilly, and M. A. Kenney. (2024). Observed and potential conflicts in management of interdependent infrastructure systems. ASCE's Journal of Management in Engineering, 40(4), 04024020. DOI: 10.1061/JMENEA.MEENG-5907
• Best, K.B., Q. He., A. C. Reilly, N. Tran, and D. Niemeier. (2023) “Rent Affordability after Hurricanes: Longitudinal Evidence from U.S. Coastal States” Risk Analysis [accepted]. DOI: 10.1111/risa.14224
• Best, K.B., Q. He, A. C. Reilly, D. Niemeier, M. Anderson, and T. Logan. (2023) “Socioeconomic and Racial Disparity in Isolation Risk due to Sea Level Rise in the United States.” Nature Communications, 14(1), 7904. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43835-6
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  2023 Top 25 Research Paper in Nature Communications in social science and human behavior
• Logan T.M., M. Anderson, and A.C. Reilly. (2023) “Risk of isolation: Revising the estimated burden of sea-level rise” Nature Climate Change, 13, 397-402.
• Najarkolaie, K., M. Bensi, and A.C. Reilly. (2023) “Near-Term and Long-Term Inundation Risk Insights for Contaminated Sites in the U.S.” ASCE Journal of Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste, 27(1), 04022043. 2024 Best Research Paper in the Journal of Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste
• Best, K.B, S. Kerr, A.C. Reilly, A. Patwardhan, D. Niemeier, and Guikema, S. (2023). Spatial regression identifies socioeconomic inequality in multi-stage power outage recovery after Hurricane Isaac. Natural Hazards, 117(1), 851-873.
• Zhai, C., A.C. Reilly, and S.D. Guikema. (2023). “Individual learning as a driver of changes in community vulnerability under repeated hurricanes and changing climate.” Risk Analysis, 43(4), 762-782.
• Frimpong E., A.C. Reilly, and D. Niemeier. (2022) “Federal flood mitigation assistance and the community’s response to flood risk mitigation.” Risk Analysis [accepted]. 
• Ghaedi, H., A.C. Reilly, H. Baroud, D.V. Perrucci, and  C.M. Ferreira. (2022) “Predicting flood damage using the flood peak ratio and Giovanni Flooded Fraction.” PLoS ONE, 17(8), e0271230.
• Jasour, Z.Y., A.C. Reilly, G. Tonn, and C. Ferriera. (2022) “Roadway flooding as a bellwether for household retreat in rural, coastal regions vulnerable to sea-level rise.” Climate Risk Management.
• Reilly, A.C., H. Baroud, R. Flage, and M. Gerst. (2021) “Sources of uncertainty in interdependent infrastructure and their implications.” Reliability Engineering & System Safety, 107756. 
• Tonn, G., Reilly, A.C., Czajkowski, J., Ghaedi, H., and Kunreuther, H. (2021). “US transportation infrastructure resilience: Influences of insurance, incentives, and Public Assistance.” Transport Policy, 100, 108-119. 
• Johnson, C.A., A.C. Reilly, R. Flage, and S.D. Guikema. (2021) “Characterizing the robustness of power-law networks that experience spatially-correlated failures.” Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part O: Journal of Risk and Reliability, 235(3), 403-415. 
• Reilly, A.C., R. Dillon, and S. Guikema. (2021) “Agent-Based Models as an Integrating Boundary Object for Interdisciplinary Research” Risk Analysis, 41(7): 1087-1092.