Kontou named Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant Faculty Scholar

5/11/2022

For her project, Kontou will use modeling to explore improving the resiliency of southern Lake Michigan communities to flooding.

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Eleftheria KontouAssistant professor Eleftheria Kontou has been named a 2022 Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant (IISG) Faculty Scholar. Kontou joins three other faculty members from Illinois and Indiana institutions who are part of the latest cohort of faculty scholars announced by IISG. For her project, Kontou will use modeling to explore improving the resiliency of southern Lake Michigan communities to flooding.

According to Kontou, vulnerable communities in Southern Lake Michigan need to be protected from extreme flooding with robust evacuation plans that account for using alternative fuel vehicles – for example, battery-electric and fuel cell electric vehicles – by evacuees. Since alternative fuel vehicles are characterized by short driving ranges and depend on a sparse refueling and charging network, they pose risks to travelers using these technologies during evacuations. Kontou’s proposed project aims to design evacuation routes for alternative fuel vehicle drivers in Southern Lake Michigan transport networks that are responsive to flooding hazards.

The novel models she will be developing can bring the necessary information and tools to decision-makers, foster resilient economies and protect communities from the threats of climate change, Kontou said.


More information about the other IISG projects is available here.

 


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This story was published May 11, 2022.