Dr. Luis E Ortiz Uriarte

Luis Ortiz’s research focuses on advancing our understanding of how cities interact with the atmosphere in the context of a changing climate, and the impacts these interactions have on people and infrastructure. His work considers cities as complex systems of environmental, human and engineering domains, and aims to consider all three as fundamental to understanding the impacts of climate change, as well as adaptation and mitigation strategies. Ortiz earned his PhD in 2018 from the City College of New York studying building-atmosphere interactions under extreme heat conditions. From there, he joined The New School's Urban Systems Lab from 2018 to 2021, where he worked on the socioeconomic impacts of climate change in cities in the Americas. Before joining George Mason University in 2022 as an Assistant Professor in Climate Applications, he completed an appointment in the Office of the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, where he worked on climate policy, environmental justice, and transparency in environmental clearance.