Author: Xin Wei
Earth and Environmental Science Research
Schmidt AI in Science Fellow Xin Wei‘s research centers on assessing natural hazards, with a particular emphasis on geohazards such as landslides. He investigates historical losses and community impacts and develops innovative risk assessment tools to mitigate future disasters. His work integrates geotechnical engineering expertise with advanced AI techniques through interdisciplinary approaches that include remote sensing, geospatial modeling, and both data-driven and physics-based modeling. To evaluate past hazard impacts, Xin leverages state-of-the-art natural language processing to analyze diverse data sources, ranging from traditional sources (for example, government geological survey reports) to non-traditional ones (such as social media). For future risk prediction and mitigation, he utilizes remote sensing data (such as optical imagery) to detect existing hazards and identify areas at risk, while integrating physics-based methods with reliability theory to assess potential consequences.
He collaborates with experts across multiple disciplines. Professor Sabine Loos, from the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, contributes her expertise in geospatial modeling, risk analysis, and user-centered design techniques to develop tools that inform effective and equitable disaster risk reduction and recovery; Professor F. Estéfan T. Garcia, also from the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, offers insights in geotechnical engineering and advanced numerical modeling; and Professor Elizabeth Bondi-Kelly, from the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department, brings specialized knowledge in computer vision, deep learning, remote sensing, and human-AI collaboration. Together, these collaborations drive research that bridges engineering and artificial intelligence to enhance our understanding and mitigation of natural hazards.