Urban physics network, co-led by GU physics professor, launched in Marseille, France

Professor Emanuela Del Gado, co-lead of USERS.

In July 2019, a newly established international network called Urban Science and Engineering for (quantitative) Resilience and Sustainability, or USERS, was launched at an event in Marseille, France. Funded by the French Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, it is jointly-led by Georgetown physics professor Emanuela Del Gado and Dr. Roland Pellenq, director of the joint MIT-CNRS-Aix Marseille Université lab. Representing the Provost with Professor Del Gado was Vice Provost for Research, Billy Jack.

USERS includes 15 international academic partners, 7 laboratories in France and 5 industrial partners. Beyond MIT and Georgetown, other US partners include Princeton, Berkeley, NYU and the Santa Fe Institute. The network brings together a diverse and interdisciplinary community of scientists, engineers, and industrial researchers. The focus is in promoting fundamental research in areas such as construction materials, urban planning, resilience and sustainability of cities under evolving climates.

Officials from Georgetown, Aix-Marseille, CNRS, MIT, and Bordeaux sign letters of support for the USERS network.

USERS partners are physicists, material scientists and engineers that aim to bring physics, material science concepts, and research tools into monitoring, understanding and predicting the evolution of cities. The societal implications of the network’s research encompass behavioral and sociological changes, policy innovation and development, and the translation of new technologies into sustainable industrial processes.