Meet some of the faculty of CRR

Name: Dr. Yunfei Zhao
Title: Assistant Professor
Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Reliability Engineering Program at the University of Maryland.
Brief Bio: Dr. Zhao is the director of the Risk and Decision Analysis Laboratory and is a core member of the Center for Risk and Reliability. He holds a Ph.D. degree in Nuclear Science and Technology from Tsinghua University and a B.S. degree in Thermal Energy and Power Engineering from Shandong University. Prior to joining the University of Maryland, he was a postdoctoral researcher and research associate at the Ohio State University.

Lab info: Research in his lab (Risk and Decision Analysis Laboratory)
is focused on developing innovative machine learning methods for probabilistic risk assessment and optimal decision making to improve the reliability, safety, security, and efficiency of safety-critical systems such as nuclear power plants.

Name: Dr. Michelle (Shelby) Bensi
Title: Associate Professor
Affiliation: University of Maryland, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Brief bio: Dr. Michelle (Shelby) Bensi, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. She is a member of the UMD Center for Risk and Reliability and UMD Center for Disaster Resilience. Dr. Bensi’s research focuses on probabilistic assessment of multiple types of natural hazards, risk-informed applications, the use of statistics/machine learning in engineering, and disaster resilience. She seeks to address key research gaps that impede the performance of robust risk assessments for natural and human-induced hazards, including hazards that may become more severe due to a changing climate. Dr. Bensi previously served as an engineer at the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and her research and professional activities continue to include a substantial focus on nuclear power facilities. Dr. Bensi holds a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering with a Designated Emphasis in Computational Science and Engineering from UC Berkeley. She also holds a master’s degree in applied sciences and a bachelor’s degree in economics. Outside of work, Dr. Bensi enjoys taiji/wushu, traveling, soccer, and painting.

Lab info: The Risk-Informed Solutions in Engineering Laboratory (RISE Lab) team conducts research related to probabilistic assessment of natural hazards and associated risks, as well as a variety of topics involving the applications of statistics and machine learning methods, geospatial analysis, and other quantitative methods.

Published August 19, 2024