Title: Disaster and Health Emergency Urban Systemic Risk (DHEUSeR) Transformation Cluster
Funding Agency: DHEUSeR (Disaster and Health Emergency Urban Systemic Risk Transformation Cluster)
Goal: To develop interdisciplinary methods and digital tools to assess and mitigate the impact of solar storms on power systems, enhancing infrastructure resilience and public safety.

Project Summary

Complex hazards and systemic vulnerabilities are converging, leading to disruptive disaster and health emergency events that can escalate in frequency and severity while reverberating and cascading across multiple scales. The idea of systemic risk has been on the global health, financial crisis and sustainability agenda since the turn of the century. However, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic highlights the urgent need and demand for a transformative approach to the interconnected and systemic factors and processes in order to safeguard and enhance health and sustainability in urban contexts. Systemic risk events are predominantly urban, and urban demographic, socioeconomic, technological and environmental forces play a decisive role in defining vulnerability and inequity.

Transformative changes are needed in concepts, models, policy, governance, and operational tools to identify and manage systemic risks of disaster and health emergencies in urban contexts. "Disaster and Health Emergency Urban Systemic Risk (DHEUSeR) Transformation Cluster” responds to this set of needs.

Key Research Areas

Thematic areas:

• I. Risk Analysis: Identification, Monitoring, Forecasting, Modelling and Measurements
• II. Social, Psychological, and Behavioural Dimensions:
• III. Policy, Ethics, and Society
• IV. Risk Transferring, Sharing and Financing V.Digital Tools and Platforms:
• VI. Scenario and Simulation Drills
• VII. Governance, Civil Society Action Strategy: Equity-Plus Networks; Transformative Change workshops. 

Subprojects include:

• Risk Transferring, Sharing & Financing - Leads: Ida Ferrara and Eduard Furman (Theme IV)
• Disasters and Health Emergency Management - Policy and Ethics - Leads: Jennifer Spinney and Eric Kennedy (Themes II & III)
• Computational Methods for Mitigation of Solar Storm Effects - Leads: Afshin Rezaei-Zare and Maleknaz Nayebi (Themes V & VI)
• Disaster & Emergency Operations and Management Modeling, Series Game, and Exercise - Leads: Ali Asgary and Jianhong Wu (Theme VI)

Key Contributors

Principal Investigator: Professor Jianhong Wu
Co- Principal Investigator: Dr. Afshin Rezaei-Zare

Funding and Resources

• NSERC Alliance – Mitacs
• SSHRC PEG
• Ontario Wildfire Program
• Fields-Sanofi Collaboration (Fields Institute)
• NSERC Alliance (separate from Mitacs)

Impact and Future Goals

To develop advanced computational tools and methods that assess the impact of solar storms on power systems—specifically focusing on geomagnetically induced currents (GIC)—with the broader aim of contributing to national and international research initiatives. This project supports the long-term sustainability goals of the DHEUSeR Cluster by aligning with external funding strategies, such as NSERC Alliance, NFRF, and SSHRC, and advancing Canada’s resilience against space weather threats through digital innovation and interdisciplinary collaboration.

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Project Overview 

Title: Geomagnetic Disturbance in Modern Societies and Technological Infrastructures (GMD-MSTI) 
Funding Agency: NSERC CREATE 
Goal: To study the impact of geomagnetic disturbances (GMD) on modern technological infrastructures, particularly focusing on their effects on communication, energy, and transportation systems in the face of growing geomagnetic activity. 

Project Summary 

The GMD-MSTI project aims to explore the implications of geomagnetic disturbances, which are caused by solar storms, on the global infrastructure that is critical to modern society. This research will focus on understanding how GMDs affect systems such as satellites, electrical grids, and communication networks, providing essential insights to mitigate risks and improve resilience against space weather events. 

The project will bring together experts in space weather, engineering, and policy to create innovative solutions for protecting vital infrastructures from GMD effects, fostering collaborations between academia, industry, and government stakeholders. 

Key Research Areas 

• Geomagnetic Activity Modeling: Developing predictive models to understand geomagnetic disturbances and their impact on technological systems. 

• Infrastructure Vulnerabilities: Identifying weaknesses in power grids, satellite communications, and transport networks due to GMDs. 

• Risk Mitigation Strategies: Creating engineering and policy strategies to safeguard infrastructures from geomagnetic disruptions. 

Key Contributors 

• Project Lead: Afshin Rezaei Zare (Principal Investigator) 

• Co-applicants: Ali Asgary, Hina Tabassum, Regina Lee, Maleknaz Nayebi, Georg Zoidl, and others 

• Partner Institutions: 91��ɫ and related partner institutes specializing in space weather, electrical engineering, and risk management. 

Funding and Resources 

• Total Funding: NSERC CREATE program funding, with an emphasis on infrastructure research and development. 

• University Contributions: In-kind contributions from 91��ɫ

Impact and Future Goals 

The GMD-MSTI project aims to enhance the resilience of critical infrastructures to solar and geomagnetic activities, which have the potential to cause widespread disruptions. By addressing these issues, the project will provide actionable insights and solutions that can help industries, governments, and communities better prepare for the future challenges posed by space weather. 

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