Dr. Christopher G. Burton is a geographer specialized in spatial data science and modeling applied to human-environmental problems, particularly the differential impacts from natural hazards and disasters. His research is focused on subject matter we know less about in natural hazards and disasters scholarship which includes: 1) understanding what natural hazard threats global environmental changes pose for vulnerable communities and what responses could be most effective in reducing risk to those communities; 2) measuring social concepts—social vulnerability, resilience, and recovery; 3) better understanding the interdependencies between natural, social, and built-environment systems that generate risk, vulnerability, and resilience to climate-induced hazards; and 4) the modeling of cascading effects following damaging hazard events. As part of the NRT, Dr. Burton will teach courses on social vulnerability and resilience to natural hazards and disasters and GIS for disaster risk management.