Advancing Climate Resilience
We build a just and sustainable future through climate mitigation and adaptation efforts.
A first-of-its-kind neighborhood retrofit
Under the leadership of CITRIS’s Therese Peffer, the Oakland EcoBlock is retrofitting a neighborhood block with shared energy- and water-efficient technologies to cut greenhouse gas emissions to zero.
Primarily funded by the California Energy Commission (CEC), the project features resilient performance and electrification updates, block-wide green infrastructure improvements, and shared rooftop solar.
In August, Peffer and colleagues received $8 million from the CEC for research to decarbonize commercial buildings.
Old technology made new
A UC Davis team led by CITRIS Climate Director Michele Barbato is exploring the use of compressed earth blocks as a wildfire-resilient building material for homes. Inspired by technology used for over 10,000 years, modern earth blocks offer energy efficiency and durability.
The group has proved the material’s ability to not only resist fire but to grow even stronger when exposed to flame. Barbato is working to develop standards for earthen structures that will make them more affordable than wooden homes.
“CITRIS is a convener of the best minds on the biggest problems facing America.”
— Jennifer Granholm, U.S. Secretary of Energy
Smarter infrastructure, safer homes
CITRIS researchers, including UC Berkeley’s Kenichi Soga, will collaborate with the Yuba Water Agency and local districts to strengthen the resilience of local infrastructure against extreme weather events.
The team toured levees in April to identify likely locations for fiber optic cables and to discuss the potential of drone flights for remote sensing.
Yuba Water has committed $360,000 over two years to the project, as part of a broader effort to protect the county's residents and natural resources.
Preserving California parks with VR
“Once it’s gone, it’s gone.” After Bodie State Historical Park was nearly wiped out by a 2014 wildfire, UC Merced’s Nicola Lercari led a CITRIS Seed Award project to preserve its ghost town by mapping it in 3D with LIDAR.
His team’s work inspired the new Virtual Adventurer app launched by California State Parks, which now offers visitors immersive, augmented-reality trips through 10 state parks.
RESEARCHER PROFILE
Bridging minds and machines
From fire-detecting drones to optimally efficient human-machine teams, UC Davis engineer Zhaodan Kong uses complex tech systems to address complex challenges.
With support from a CITRIS Seed Award, Kong is leading a team to develop an early wildfire detection system using a ground-based sensor network and an AI-enabled drone swarm.
To help human-autonomy teams collaborate more effectively, he is working on another multicampus CITRIS-funded project to better quantify a user’s trust in autonomous systems.