Resilience in Action

This El Niño is breaking all-time records, with tropical Pacific waters running close to 8°F warmer than normal. What does a record-breaking El Niño mean for hurricanes, rainfall, wildfire, and the communities preparing for them?  

Michael Berkowitz sits down with Ben Kirtman, Dean of the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science, and Emily Becker, Research Associate Professor and Deputy Director of NOAA's Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies (CIMAS), to unpack what makes this El Niño so extraordinary. They discuss how El Niño reshapes weather around the world, how seasonal forecasts help communities prepare months in advance, and the future of climate prediction, from NOAA projection services to the rise of private sector risk modeling.  

🔗Resources & Links: Why were the forecast winter impacts stronger for the marginal La Niña of 2024/25 than for the strong El Niño of 2023/24? Part 1: Traditional versus relative Niño-3.4 index perspectives

Initialized Seasonal Prediction with the NCAR Models in the North American Multimodel Ensemble (NMME)

About the UM Climate Resilience Institute: The University of Miami Climate Resilience Institute seeks to capitalize on the University of Miami's collective expertise and applied research strengths to build a more resilient environment, society, and economy. Our goal is to bridge the gap between cutting-edge science and on-the-ground community preparedness.  

About Ben Kirtman: Ben Kirtman is Dean of the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science. He also serves as Director of NOAA's Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies (CIMAS) and Deputy Director of the Frost Institute for Data Science and Computing. A leading seasonal forecaster, he is working with Emily Becker to develop the scientific basis for NOAA climate projection services.  

About Emily Becker: Emily Becker is a Research Associate Professor in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science, and Deputy Director of NOAA's Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies (CIMAS). A leading seasonal forecaster, she is working with Ben Kirtman to develop the scientific basis for NOAA climate projection services.  

About Michael Berkowitz: Michael Berkowitz, host of the Resilience in Action Podcast, is Executive Director of the Climate Resilience Institute and the Eric T. Levin Endowed Chair in Climate Resilience. He previously built the Rockefeller Foundation's 100 Resilient Cities initiative, and founded Resilient Cities Catalyst, following earlier roles as global head of Operational Risk Management at Deutsche Bank and Deputy Commissioner at New York City's Office of Emergency Management, where he responded to the 2001 World Trade Center disaster and the 2003 Northeast blackout. 

In Miami, dangerous heat doesn't arrive in waves. It settles in for months. What happens when a family's home becomes hotter than the outdoors, and how should governments respond when extreme heat is chronic rather than episodic? Michael Berkowitz sits down with Dr. Katharine (Katie) Mach, Professor and Chair of the Department of Environmental Science and Policy at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science, to explore how we turn climate science into action. They discuss why "heat wave" framing falls short in chronically hot places, what decades of managed retreat teach us about land use, where resilience finance is headed, and the skills the next generation of climate practitioners will need.⏳ Chapter Timestamps: 0:00 - Hotter Indoors Than Outdoors 0:34 - Introduction: Meet Dr. Katharine Mach 1:20 - Climate Adaptation as Integration Across Disciplines 2:59 - What Makes Climate Risk Information Actionable? 5:17 - Communicating Risk in an Era of Misinformation 6:40 - Chronic vs. Episodic Heat: Why Heat Wave Framing Fails Miami 9:54 - How Governments Should Respond to Chronic Heat 14:42 - Tree Canopy, Weatherization & a Whole-of-Government Approach 15:27 - The Frontiers of Heat Research: Better Warnings, Culture & Cooling Tech 18:37 - Rethinking Managed Retreat & Strategic Land Use 24:41 - Agnostic Adaptation: Buyouts on Staten Island After Hurricane Sandy 26:07 - Avoiding Development in Hazardous Places 27:16 - The Future of Resilience Finance & Insurance 31:24 - Training the Next Generation of Climate Practitioners 34:48 - Big Picture Trends: Super El Niño, Emissions & State and Local Action 🔗 Resources & Links: • Read "Where heat does not come in waves: a framework for understanding and managing chronic heat": https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10... • Read "Interactions between indoor heat and energy affordability amplify household risks in hot-humid US climate zones": https://www.cell.com/one-earth/abstra... • Read A.R. Siders and Katharine Mach's 2019 Science commentary on strategic, managed retreat: https://cawaterlibrary.net/wpAbout the UM Climate Resilience Institute: The University of Miami Climate Resilience Institute seeks to capitalize on the University of Miami's collective expertise and applied research strengths to build a more resilient environment, society, and economy. Our goal is to bridge the gap between cutting-edge science and on-the-ground community preparedness. About Katharine Mach: Katharine (Katie) Mach is Professor and Chair of the Department of Environmental Science and Policy at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science, and a Faculty Affiliate with the Climate Resilience Institute. Her work focuses on adaptation in a changing climate, integrating climate risk with the built environment, governance, and human health, with particular emphasis on extreme heat and flooding. She has spent her career at the interface of science and decision-making, co-directing IPCC Working Group II and leading chapters for the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth National Climate Assessments. She also teaches a course called the Science of Actionable Knowledge. About Michael Berkowitz: Michael Berkowitz, host of the Resilience in Action Podcast, is the Executive Director of the University of Miami Climate Resilience Institute and the Eric T. Levin Endowed Chair in Climate Resilience. He previously built the Rockefeller Foundation's 100 Resilient Cities initiative, and founded Resilient Cities Catalyst, following earlier roles as global head of Operational Risk Management at Deutsche Bank and Deputy Commissioner at New York City's Office of Emergency Management, where he responded to the 2001 World Trade Center disaster and the 2003 Northeast blackout.

What makes a climate resilience plan equitable? University of Miami researchers Dr. Kilan Ashad Bishop and Dr. Duneia McManus break down their recent study revealing why 74% of health impact assessments of climate resilience plans fall short—and how planners can fix them. 

In this episode of Resilience in Action, join Michael Berkowitz as he sits down with University of Miami’s Dr. Kilan Ashad Bishop and Dr. Duneia McManus to discuss the critical intersection of health equity, climate resilience, and racial justice. By evaluating more than 30 Health Impact Assessments (HIAs), they uncovered that merely treating race as a demographic descriptor isn't enough to protect vulnerable populations. True equity requires addressing structural racism, recognizing intersectionality, and centering the lived experiences of marginalized communities. Discover the key differences between high-scoring and low-scoring resilience plans, and learn actionable best practices for incorporating diverse community voices into the urban planning process from day one. 

Link to Dr. Kilan Ashad Bishop & Dr. Duneia McManus' study referenced in the episode: Towards Justice in Climate Resilience Policy: An Evaluation of Racial Equity in Climate Resilience-Related Health Impact Assessments

About the UM Climate Resilience Institute:  

The University of Miami Climate Resilience Institute seeks to capitalize on the University of Miami's collective expertise and applied research strengths to build a more resilient environment, society, and economy. Our goal is to bridge the gap between cutting-edge science and on-the-ground community preparedness.  

About Kilan Ashad Bishop:  

Kilan Bishop is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental Science and Policy at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, & Earth Science. She is an interdisciplinary health scientist interested in how social-environmental factors pattern and exacerbate health disparities. Her research portfolio offers a unique perspective on environmental health issues that affect medically vulnerable populations, particularly in the context of climate change and urbanization. 

About Duneia McManus:  

Duneia McManus is a postdoctoral associate at the University of Miami, where she works in the lab of Dr. Kilan C. Ashad-Bishop investigating the social-environmental factors that pattern and exacerbate health disparities. She earned her Ph.D. in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Miami.  

About Michael Berkowitz:  

Michael Berkowitz, host of the Resilience in Action Podcast, is Executive Director of the Climate Resilience Institute and the Eric T. Levin Endowed Chair in Climate Resilience. He previously built the Rockefeller Foundation's 100 Resilient Cities initiative, and founded Resilient Cities Catalyst, following earlier roles as global head of Operational Risk Management at Deutsche Bank and Deputy Commissioner at New York City's Office of Emergency Management, where he responded to the 2001 World Trade Center disaster and the 2003 Northeast blackout. 

AI is rapidly improving data acquisition and accuracy for climate risk models. But do decision makers have the right skills and capacity to make the most out of all this critical climate data?  

Michael Berkowitz sits down with University of Miami geographer, urban planner, and researcher, Sarbeswar Praharaj to explore the intersection of artificial intelligence and urban adaptation. They discuss the critical role of interdisciplinary decision-makers as emerging technologies transform the field of urban resilience planning, from hyper-local equity strategies to global machine learning applications.  

Learn more:

Combining AI with urban resilience planning: A bibliometric analysis of literature

Urban planning for climate resilience: Evaluating multi-level network of resilience plans in Miami-Dade County

UM Master of Professional Science in Urban Sustainability and Resilience

About the UM Climate Resilience Institute: The University of Miami Climate Resilience Institute seeks to capitalize on the University of Miami's collective expertise and applied research strengths to build a more resilient environment, society, and economy. Our goal is to bridge the gap between cutting-edge science and on-the-ground community preparedness. 

About Sarbeswar Praharaj: Sarbeswar Praharaj is an Assistant Professor at the University of Miami, with dual appointments in the Department of Geography and Sustainable Development and the School of Architecture. He serves as the Director of the Master of Professional Science in Urban Sustainability and Resilience, an interdisciplinary, STEM- designated program that trains scholars to plan for more sustainable urban futures in the face of accelerating global environmental changes. Dr. Praharaj Chairs the Smart Cities Miami Conference, hosted by the Frost Institute for Data Science and Computing, providing an international platform for scientific exchange. He is also a Faculty Affiliate with the Climate Resilience Institute, where he convenes university-wide efforts to promote integrative science with and for the broader community. 

About Michael Berkowitz: Michael Berkowitz, host of the Resilience in Action Podcast, is Executive Director of the Climate Resilience Institute and the Eric T. Levin Endowed Chair in Climate Resilience. He previously built the Rockefeller Foundation's 100 Resilient Cities initiative, and founded Resilient Cities Catalyst, following earlier roles as global head of Operational Risk Management at Deutsche Bank and Deputy Commissioner at New York City's Office of Emergency Management, where he responded to the 2001 World Trade Center disaster and the 2003 Northeast blackout.

What if the concrete used to defend our coastlines could actually help marine ecosystems thrive? Explore the fascinating world of next-generation coastal infrastructure and biophilic concrete mixtures. 

In this episode of the Resilience in Action podcast, Michael Berkowitz sits down with University of Miami engineer, Prannoy Suraneni, to uncover the secret to low-carbon concrete. They explore how engineers are developing sustainable solutions that not only reduce the massive global carbon footprint of the cement industry but actively improve the survivorship of coral larvae. From 3D printing artificial reefs to navigating the complex policy challenges of bringing climate tech to market, this conversation highlights the cutting-edge innovations protecting vulnerable coastal cities like Miami. 

Prannoy Suraneni is an associate professor in the Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering at the University of Miami College of Engineering where his research focuses on the materials science, chemistry, and engineering of cementitious materials — developing durable, low-carbon concrete through innovative waste materials and sustainable construction practices. He is also an affiliate of the University of Miami Climate Resilience Institute. Read more about Prannoy Suraneni’s research below. 

Seawater-mixed concrete – A review with focus on durability properties 

CO2 uptake in fillers and supplementary cementitious materials 

Electrochemically induced alkalinity enhancement increases coral growth rates in the local microenvironment 

Michael Berkowitz is Executive Director of the Climate Resilience Institute and the Eric T. Levin Endowed Chair in Climate Resilience. He previously built the Rockefeller Foundation's 100 Resilient Cities initiative and founded Resilient Cities Catalyst, following earlier roles as global head of Operational Risk Management at Deutsche Bank and Deputy Commissioner at New York City's Office of Emergency Management, where he responded to the 2001 World Trade Center disaster and the 2003 Northeast blackout.

Watch recordings of the Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure Webinar Series. Follow Prannoy Suraneni on LinkedIn to stay up to date on upcoming webinars the last Friday of every month.

Explore the South Florida Risk and Resilience Tech Hub

Learn more about the ⁠UM Climate Resilience Institute⁠. Follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠LinkedIn⁠ to stay up to date!

What are sub-seasonal forecasts and how can they improve community resilience?      

In this episode of our Resilience in Action podcast, University of Miami climate scientist ⁠Marybeth Arcodia⁠ explains the sub-seasonal forecast—a critical two-week to three-month window that gives sectors like energy, agriculture, and infrastructure the lead time they need to prepare for extreme weather events.     

Listen in to learn how machine learning and AI are creating massive step-changes in climate modeling and extreme weather prediction. From her firsthand experience surviving a typhoon in Micronesia without warning to developing hyper-localized forecasting models, Dr. Arcodia shares why translating complex atmospheric data into actionable community resilience strategies is critical.      

Marybeth Arcodia is an assistant professor of atmospheric science with joint appointments between the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Sciences and the Frost Institute for Data Science and Computing at the University of Miami. Read more about Marybeth Arcodia’s research below. 

Machine learning for subseasonal-to-seasonal prediction 

Earth System Predictability across Time Scales for a Resilient Society: A Research Community Perspective 

Learn more about your hosts, the University of Miami Climate Resilience Institute. https://resilience.miami.edu/