A team led by Xiao Liu, the David M. McKenney Family Associate Professor in Georgia Tech’s H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, has received a $1.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation.
The award funds “AccelNet Implementation Phase 1: International Networks Towards Future Resilience of U.S. Urban Socio‑Technical Systems,” and will support the creation of Resilient‑NET, a research network linking U.S. and global experts on urban resilience.
Liu is the principal investigator. Co‑principal investigators include Hiba Baroud (Vanderbilt University), Linyin Cheng and Song Yang (University of Arkansas), Jennifer Pazour (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute), Yisha Xiang (University of Houston), and Xiang Zhou (Harvard University).
Resilient‑NET adopts a comprehensive approach focused on three interconnected dimensions. The first emphasizes Technology, studying how AI‑driven systems are integrated into infrastructure and mobility networks.
The second centers on People, examining evolving human–technology interactions and the social dynamics that shape system performance. The third addresses Environment, responding to more frequent extreme events by
improving predictive models, preparedness strategies, and urban digital twin development.
By combining these perspectives, the project seeks to generate new insights into how technological advances, social behavior, and climate risks intersect, and to propose pathways toward more sustainable, adaptable cities.
“Urban resilience is an interdisciplinary grand challenge,” Liu said, noting the need to coordinate expertise and resources across fields. He added that Resilient‑NET aims to produce a roadmap for resilient urban ecosystems and to mentor the next generation of global leaders.
The effort draws on a range of research strengths within ISyE—including system informatics and control, energy and sustainable systems, data science and statistics, and ties to the Supply Chain and Logistics Institute and AI4OPT at Georgia Tech.
Domestic collaborators include the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard, the Natural Hazards Center at the University of Colorado, IBM Research, the Taylor Geospatial Institute, and Argonne National Laboratory.
International partners span the Singapore‑ETH Centre on Future Resilient Systems, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (Germany), Tecnológico de Monterrey and Universidad Panamericana Guadalajara (Global South), and the 4TU Centre for Resilience Engineering in the Netherlands.
Looking ahead, the team envisions Resilient‑NET as a long‑term hub that advances scientific understanding while training students and early‑career researchers in global leadership and transdisciplinary problem solving.
With artificial intelligence rapidly reshaping infrastructure and mobility, Liu and his collaborators stress that this work is critical to keeping urban systems functional and equitable under uncertainty.
“Our goal is to link disciplines, institutions, and countries to build cities that are technologically advanced, safe, and adaptable for future generations,” Liu said.
