YEMERGE
Y-EMERGE builds on York’s exceptional expertise to develop, grow, and sustain transformative and multidisciplinary research and teaching in transformative disaster risk reduction, emergency preparedness, response, and recovery. Y-EMERGE brings together a wide variety of disciplines, including mathematical modelling, social and behavioural study, geospatial technology, artificial intelligence, participatory research, and the humanities and social sciences.
Y-EMERGE fosters strong relationships with governmental agencies, stakeholders, and communities beyond the campus, emphasizing research and training opportunities that contribute to community and organizational resilience.
YEMERGE Missions
- Y-EMERGE transforms the way the societies understand, conceptualize, analyze, manage, and govern crises, disasters, and emergencies;
- Y-EMERGE fosters interdisciplinary collaborations;
- Y-EMERGE accelerates and grows close partnerships with practitioners, communities, industrial and government organizations
- Y-EMERGE intensifies knowledge mobilization;
- Y-EMERGE supports trainees and early career scholars;
- Y-EMERGE emphasizes and promotes community-engaged scholarship, real-world and need-driven research, and evidence-based training to support current and future disaster and emergency management leaders.
YEMERGE Research Themes
- Prediction, Simulation, and Modeling (PSM)
- Social, Psychological, and Behavioural (SPB)
- Ecological, Biological, Physical, and Engineered Systems (EBPE)
- Governance, Policy, Evidence, and Ethics (GPE)
- Digital Tools & Platforms (DTP)
- Community Engagement & Inclusive Research (CEIR)
- Training, Education, and Mentorship (TEM)
YEMERGE Executive Board
Professor Jianhong Wu
Director
Dr. Ali Asgary
Associate Director and Coordinator, Emergency Support & Rapid-Response (ESR)
Dr. Eric Kennedy
Associate Director and Coordinator, Social, Psychological, and Behavioural (SPB)
Professor Jane Heffernan
Coordinator, Prediction, Simulation, and Modeling (PSM)
Dr. Afshin Rezaei Zare
Associate Director and Coordinator, Emergency Support & Rapid-Response (ESR)
Dr. Jennifer Spinney
Associate Director and Coordinator, Social, Psychological, and Behavioural (SPB)
Dr. Maleknaz Nayebi
Coordinator, Digital Tools & Platforms (DTP)
Professor Roger Keil
Coordinator, Community Engagement & Inclusive Research (CEIR)
Dr. Evalyna Bogdan
Coordinator, Training, Education, and Mentorship (TEM)