smotesharrei
Main profile
Dr. Safa Motesharrei is a Systems Scientist at SESYNC, and a PhD candidate in Physics (Econophysics) at the University of Maryland (UMD), College Park. He has bachelor's degrees in Electrical Engineering and Physics, master's degrees in Physics and Mathematics, and PhD in Applied Mathematics/Public Policy from UMD. The focus of his work is on integration of the Human System and Population into the Earth System Models. He works with a cross-disciplinary team of renowned scientists including Eugenia Kalnay (Atmospheric Science), James Yorke (Mathematics), Matthias Ruth (Public Policy), Victor Yakovenko (Econophysics), Klaus Hubacek (Geography/Economics), Jelena Srebric (Engineering/Energy Sustainability), Robert Cahalan (Climate and Space Physics), and Fernando Miralles-Wilhelm (Hydrology/Water Sustainability).
Together with Jorge Rivas (Institute of Global Environment and Society) and Prof. Kalnay, Dr. Motesharrei has developed a minimal dynamical model of Human and Nature, HANDY, which is the first mathematical model of this kind that shows not only ecological strain, but also economic stratification, can lead to a societal collapse. The paper on HANDY was published in the Journal Ecological Economics, and received widespread attention from media around the world, including The Guardian and NPR. Within a few weeks from its publication, the paper on HANDY became the most downloaded article of Ecological Economics, a position it continues to hold. Dr. Motesharrei also plays a leading role in the development of the five-sector Human-Earth System model, which includes Population, Climate, Water, Agriculture, and Energy. This project has received support from NASA.
Dr. Motesharrei's graduate studies were supported by doctoral fellowships from the School of Public Policy and the Department of Mathematics at UMD. In summer 2013, he was named the inaugural recipient of the Lev Gandin Fellowship, awarded by Dr. Genia Brin.
| Resources | |
|---|---|
| Local cooling and warming effects of forests based on satellite observations |
Mar 31, 2015 Article published in Nature Communications. |
| Human-Nature Interaction in World Modeling with Modelica |
Mar 10, 2014 Conference proceedings of the 10th International Modelica Conference. |
| Human and nature dynamics (HANDY): Modeling inequality and use of resources in the collapse or sustainability of societies |
Apr 02, 2014 Article published in Ecological Economics. |