Civil and Urban Engineering Department

Center for Urban Science and Progress

New York University

Address: 370 Jay St, Room 1309, Brooklyn, NY 11201

Email: ceferino@nyu.edu, phone: (646) 997-0534

Twitter @LuchoCeferino, curriculum vitae (12/2022)

Charalampos Avraam is a Smart Cities Postdoctoral Associate at NYU's Center for Urban Science and Progress (CUSP). His research employs optimization, game theory, and dynamical systems for the design of resilient interdependent energy, food, and water infrastructures against climate change and cyber-physical threats. Charalampos obtained his PhD in Civil and Systems Engineering (2021) and his MSE in Applied Mathematics and Statistics (2020) at Johns Hopkins University. He also holds a MPhil in Management Science and Operations from the University of Cambridge (2016) and a Diploma (5-year curriculum) in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens (2015). 

Azin Ghaffary is an Urban Science Faculty Fellow at NYU CUSP. Before, Azin was an Associate at Exponent Inc., where she worked on developing quantitative risk frameworks for electric assets and investigating construction defects in domestic and international arbitration projects. She obtained her PhD in Structural Engineering from the University of Nevada, Reno (2021), where she focused on advancing the nonlinear design of buildings under wind loads. Azin obtained her Master’s in Earthquake Engineering (2016) and Bachelor’s in Civil and Environmental Engineering (2011) from K.N.Toosi University of Technology in Tehran, Iran. She also worked as a structural engineer in Tehran, designing and conducting seismic assessments of berthing structures.

Prateek Arora is a Ph.D. student at the Civil and Urban Engineering Department at NYU's Tandon School of Engineering. He obtained his Master’s in Structural Engineering at Stanford University (April 2020) and Bachelor’s in Civil Engineering at BITS Pilani, India (June 2018). Previously, Prateek worked as a graduate structural engineer in the City of San Francisco. His research interests include hazard risk analysis and utility management in scenarios of extreme events such as earthquakes and hurricanes.

Riccardo Negri is a Ph.D. student at the Civil and Urban Engineering Department at NYU’s Tandon School of Engineering. He has working experience in structural design and facility management in Italy and in the U.S. Riccardo obtained his Master’s degree in Applied Urban Science and Informatics from NYU’s Center for Urban Science & Progress (2022). He also holds a Master’s (2013) and a Bachelor’s (2011) degree in Civil Engineering, and a specialization in Structural Engineering from Politecnico di Milano, Italy. His research interests lie in evaluating the socio-economic impacts of natural hazards on urban communities, including floods in NYC, and investigating strategies to mitigate infrastructure vulnerabilities.

Yvonne Merino is a Ph.D. Candidate at the Department of Structural and Geotechnical Engineering of the School of Engineering at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. She has worked as a structural engineer in design offices and as a junior researcher and lecturer in Colombia. Yvonne obtained her Master’s in Structural Engineering at Universidad EAFIT (2014) and her B.S. at Universidad del Quindío (2011). Her recent research addresses the enhanced earthquake resilience of emergency healthcare networks and facilities by using seismic protection systems.

Carlos Mesta is a Ph.D. student at the Scuola Universitaria Superiore (IUSS) Pavia, in the Understanding and Managing Extremes Graduate School. Carlos obtained his Master's in Civil Engineering at Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru (PUCP) (2017) and his Bachelor's in Civil Engineering at Universidad de San Martin de Porres, Peru (2012). Carlos has worked as a lecturer at PUCP and participated in various research projects (at PUCP, CIRNA/World Bank). His research interests include multi-hazard risks in tomorrow's cities and emergency response simulation in urban environments.

We are constantly looking for highly motivated people to join our team. Our research is highly interdisciplinary at the intersection of engineering, urban planning, and emergency medicine with the goal of proposing novel solutions for urban resilience. Explore our website to find out more about our tools and data.  If your research interests intersect with ours, please contact us. Currently, we have open positions for:

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• Ph.D. Students:  To express your interest, email Prof. Ceferino including your CV and a brief statement on why you are interested in our research lab and apply to the Civil Engineering Ph.D. Program at NYU. Please, find more details about the position on this link.