Gonzalo Pita is an associate scientist and Director of the MSE in Systems Engineering program in the Department of Civil and Systems Engineering (CaSE). His research centers on natural disaster risk modeling, including hazard modeling (hurricane, seismic, and floods), impacts of climate change, infrastructure vulnerability, simulation of natural hazards effects on socioeconomic systems, and analysis and design of public policies in risk mitigation. He investigates the effects of both induced seismicity (fracking) and riverine floods on vulnerable populations. He is also interested in the structure and uncertainty of catastrophe models—specifically, the development of those models and their use in U.S. natural disaster mitigation policy from 1950 to the 2000s.

Gonzalo has served as a Senior Consultant at the World Bank since 2013, where he leads projects in natural hazards risk assessment and mitigation, design and implementation of asset management systems, and design of natural disaster mitigation public policy.

He teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in natural disaster risk modeling, system dynamics, and international project management. 

More information about his projects in his faculty website and here.

Education History

  • B.S., Civil Engineering, Universidad Tecnologica Nacional
  • M.S., Structural Dynamics, Universidad Nacional de Cordoba
  • Postdoctoral Fellow, Natural Risk Simulations, Johns Hopkins University
  • Ph.D., Natural Risk Modeling, Florida Institute of Technology

Work Experience

Director of the MSE in Systems Engineering, Johns Hopkins University

Publications

Pita, G. (2022), Foundation and Development of Natural Catastrophe Risk Modeling. Nat. Haz. Rev. 10.1061/(ASCE)NH.1527- 6996.0000567.

Pita, G., Albornoz, B., Zaracho, J. (2021) Derivation of Flood Depth-Damage and Fragility Functions with Structured Expert Judgment. J. of Hydrology, 603, B, 126982. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2021.126982

A. Silva, G.L. Pita, Siquieira, G., Vieira, L. (2021) Damage assessment of RC Buildings subjected to Induced Seismicity in Brazil. Engineering Structures. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2021.111904

A. Silva, G.L. Pita, J. Inaudi, L. Vieira (2020) Probabilistic Loss Assessment of Induced Seismicity in Manaus, Brazil. Earthquake Spectra, https://doi.org/10.1177/8755293020944178

A. Silva, Florez-Lopez, J., G.L. Pita, Siquieira, G., Vieira, L. (2020) Damage assessment of RC Buildings subjected to Induced Seismicity in Brazil. Engineering Structures, Submitted

G.L. Pita, Pinelli, J.-P., Gurley, K., Weekes, J., Cocke, S. (2016). Hurricane Vulnerability Model for Mid/High-Rise Residential Buildings, Wind & Structures, vol. 23, No. 5, 449-464

G.L. Pita, M.L.A. de Schwarzkopf (2016). Urban Downburst Vulnerability and Damage Assessment from a Case Study in Argentina, Natural Hazards. 83(1), 445-463.

G.L. Pita, , J.-P. Pinelli, K. Gurley, J. Mitrani-Reiser (2015) State of the Art of Hurricane Vulnerability Estimation Methods: A Review. Natural Hazards Review 16(2), 04014022.

G.L. Pita, J.-P. Pinelli, K. Gurley (2013). Hurricane Vulnerability Modeling: Development and Future Trends. J. of Wind Eng. & Ind. Aerodynamics, (114), 96-105.

G.L. Pita J.-P. Pinelli, S. Cocke, K. Gurley, J. Mitrani-Reiser, J. Weekes (2011). Assessment of Hurricane Induced Internal Damage to Low-rise buildings in the Florida Public Hurricane Loss Model. J. of Wind Eng. & Ind. Aerodynamics. 104-106, 76-87.

J.-P. Pinelli, G.L. Pita, K. Gurley, B. Torkian, C. Subramanian (2010). Damage Characterization: Application to Florida Public Hurricane Loss Model. Natural Hazards Review 12(4), 190-195.

J.-P. Pinelli, K.R. Gurley, C.S. Subramanian, S.S. Hamid, G.L. Pita (2008). Validation of a probabilistic model for hurricane insurance loss projections in Florida, Reliability Engineering & System Safety, 93(13), 1896-1905.

Conference Papers

Silva, A., Pita, G., Inaudi, J., Vieira, L. (2019), A risk assessment framework for induced seismicity in Manaus, Brazil. 2nd International Conference on Natural Hazards & Infrastructure, 23 – 26 June 2019, Chania, Greece.

Albornoz, B., Pita, G., Natalini, B. (2018) Flood Risk Analysis in an Underserved area of Chaco, Argentina and Identification of Mitigation Strategies. Advanced School on Water, Energy, and Food – NEXUS. Poster presentation.

Silva, A. Pita, G. Flórez-Lopez, J., Siqueira, G. Santos, T., Coelho, K. Picón, R. Vieira, L. (2018) Study of Reinforced
Concrete Structures Subjected to Induced Seismicity using Lumped Damage Mechanics Modeling. CILAMCE 2018

Albornoz, B., G.L. Pita, Natalini, B. (2017) Flood Risk Analysis in an Underserved area of Chaco, Argentina and Identification of Mitigation Strategies. Disaster Risk Reduction Summit, GFP/Hydro-Met sessions. Buenos Aires. NASA-CoNAE.

Kappes, M., Joseph, M., Martinez, J., G.L. Pita (2015) Information-Based Prioritization of Vulnerability
Reduction Investments for Hurricane Shelters in the Commonwealth of Dominica. 9th Caribbean Conference on Comprehensive Disaster Management. Bahamas.

O. Ishizawa, J. Rivera, J. Miranda, J. Suarez, L. Jimenez, M. Boyer, G.L. Pita (2015) Weathering Storms: Understanding the Impact of Natural Disasters on the Poor in Central America. Regional Study Workshop Aggregated Shocks, Poverty and ex-ante Risk Management in Latin America and the Caribbean. The World Bank. Washington, DC. Aug. 31, 2015.

C. Aubrecht, R. Gunasekera, O. Ishizawa, G.L. Pita (2015) The flipside of ‘urban’: A novel model for built-up-adjusted rural-urban pattern identification and population reallocation. Proceedings Joint Urban Remote Sensing Event (JURSE) 2015. Lausanne, Switzerland.

G.L. Pita, R. Gunasekera, O. Ishizawa (2015), Windstorm Hazard Model for Disaster Risk Assessment in Central America. Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Wind Engineering. Porto Alegre, Brazil.

Ishizawa, O., Gunasekera, R., G.L. Pita (2015) Development of Country Disaster Risk Profiles for Central America: Towards a General Methodology to Asssess Disaster Risk at the National Level. Proceedings of the SECED 2015 Conference. Cambridge University, UK.

G.L. Pita, J. Inaudi, R. Gunasekera, O. Ishizawa (2015), Probabilistic Seismic Vulnerability Development Tool for Common Building Typologies in Central America. Proceedings of the SECED 2015 Conference. Cambridge University, UK.

R. Gunasekera, O. Ishizawa, C. Aubrecht, G.L. Pita, A. Pomonis, K. Fane, S. Murray, B. Blankespoor, I. Scott, Developing an Adaptive Exposure Model to Support the Generation of Country Disaster Risk Profiles. Vol. 16, EGU2014-16168European Geosciences Union General Assembly 2014. Vienna. Austria.

J.-P. Pinelli, T. Johnson, A. Chowdhury, T. Baheru, K. Gurley, J. Weekes, G.L.Pita (2014) Prediccion’on del Da~{no Interior Causado por Lluvia en Edificions de Vivienda durante Huracanes. XXXVI Jornadas Sudamericanas de Ingenieria Estructural. Montevideo, Uruguay.

G.L. Pita, J. Mitrani-Reiser (2013), Modeling Hurricane-Induced Building Downtime. Proceedings 12th Americas Conference on Wind Engineering (12ACWE)

G.L. Pita, J.-P. Pinelli (2013), Analytical Model for Low-Rise Buildings’ Vulnerability Curves. Proceedings 12th Americas Conference on Wind Engineering (12ACWE).

J.-P. Pinelli, K. Gurley, J. Weekes, G.L. Pita, T. Johnson, S. Cocke, and S. Hamid (2013), Vulnerability Model for Mid/High-Rise Buildings Subjected to Hurricane Winds and Rain. 12th Americas Conference on Wind Engineering (12ACWE).

J. Weekes, J.-P. Pinelli, T. Johnson, K. Gurley, G.L. Pita (2013) Modeling the vulnerability of mid/high rise commercial residential buildings to wind and rain in tropical cyclones ICCOSAR13, 11th Int’l Conf. on Structural Safety and Reliability, New York, NY.

G.L. Pita, J.-P. Pinelli, J. Mitrani-Reiser, S. Cocke, K. Gurley, (2012). Analysis of Hurricane Andrew Insurance Claim Data for Residential Buildings. ATC-SEI Advances in Hurricane Engineering: Learning from Our Past, Miami, FL. pp. 1047-1055.

J.-P. Pinelli, K. Gurley, G.L. Pita, T. Johnson, (2012). Life-cycle assessment of personal residential roof decking and cover under hurricane threat. ATC-SEI Advances in Hurricane Engineering Conference, Miami, FL.

Baheru, T., G.L. Pita, Chowdhury, A., and Pinelli, J.-P. (2012) Hurricane-Induced Interior Damage to Low-Rise Buildings: A Status Report of Ongoing Research at Florida International University. 3rd American Association for Wind Engineering Workshop. Hyannis, MA. August 12 – 14, 2012.

G.L. Pita, J-.P. Pinelli, K. Gurley, S. Cocke, J. Weekes, S. Hamid, (2012). Probabilistic Hurricane Rain Model for the Evaluation of Mid/High-Rise Buildings Damage due to Water Penetration. ESREL 2012. Finland.

Z. Liu, J. Mitrani-Reiser, S. Guikema, R. Francis, G. Pita, J.-P. Pinelli (2011). Imputation Models for Use in Hurricane Building-Risk Analysis. SRA Annual Meeting, Salt Lake City, UT.

G.L. Pita J.-P. Pinelli, S. Cocke, K. Gurley, J. Weekes, J. Mitrani-Reiser (2011). Assessment of hurricane induced internal damage to low-rise buildings in the Florida Public Hurricane Loss Model. Proceedings of the 13th Int’l Conf. on Wind Engineering (13ICWE). Amsterdam, Netherlands.

B. Torkian, T. Johnson, G.L. Pita, J.-P. Pinelli, (2011). Criteria for Selection of Wind Vulnerability Matrices for Single-Family Buildings. Proceedings of the 13th Int’l Conf. on Wind Engineering (13ICWE). Amsterdam, Netherlands.

J.-P. Pinelli, G.L. Pita, K. Gurley, S. Hamid, (2011). Management of Hurricane Risk in Florida. Proceedings ESREL 2011. Troyez, France.

G.L. Pita, J.-P. Pinelli, (2011). Analytical Method for Low Rise Building Vulnerability Curves. ESREL 2011, Troyez, France.

J. Mitrani-Reiser, G.L. Pita, J.-P. Pinelli, K. Gurley, J. Weekes, (2011). Development of Hurricane Damage Models for Residential Buildings, 2011 NSF Engineering Research and Innovation Conference, Atlanta, GA.

G.L. Pitatextemdash R. Francis, Z. Liu, J. Mitrani-Reiser, S. Guikema, J.-P. Pinelli, (2011), Bayesian Belief Networks for Predicting Input Data of Risk Analysis Models, Proceedings International Congress on Vulnerability and Risk Analysis Management (ICVRAM’11) 468-476. College Park, MD.

G.L. Pita, J.-P. Pinelli, (2011). Wind Vulnerability Curves Assessment in the Florida Public Hurricane Loss Model, Proceedings International Congress on Vulnerability and Risk Analysis Management (ICVRAM’11) 618-625. College Park, MD

G.L. Pita, J.-P. Pinelli, K. Gurley, J. Weekes, T. Johnson, S. Hamid (2011). Challenges in Developing the Florida Public Hurricane Loss Model for Residential and Commercial-Residential structures, ICASP11.

J.-P. Pinelli, G.L. Pita, B.Torkian, T. Johnson, K.Gurley, S.Hamid (2011). Parameter Identification in a Catastrophe Model: the Case of the Florida Public Model, 2011 Structures Congress.

G.L. Pita, J.-P. Pinelli, J. Mitrani-Reiser, K. Gurley, J. Weekes (2010). Latest Improvements in the Florida Public Hurricane Loss Model, AAWE Workshop 2010. Marco Island. FL.

J.-P. Pinelli, K. Gurley, G.L. Pita, (2010). Hurricane Risk Management in Florida, Australasian Wind Engineering Society, (14’AWES). Canberra, Australia.

J.-P. Pinelli, K. Gurley, G.L. Pita, (2010). Hurricane Vulnerability Assessment: Latest Experience and Development in the Florida Public Hurricane Loss Model, IDRiM’10. Vienna. Austria

J.-P. Pinelli, G.L. Pita, K.Gurley, C. Subramanian, S.Hamid, (2010). Commercial-Residential Buildings’ Vulnerability Component of the Florida Public Hurricane Loss Model, SC-NASCC Conference 2010

J.-P. Pinelli , S. Hamid , K. Gurley , G.L. Pita, (2009). Florida Public Hurricane Loss Model: Vulnerability Modeling, Loss Prediction, and Certification Process, 2nd Int’l Conference on Asian Catastrophe Insurance, Beijing, China December, 2009.

G.L. Pita, J.-P. Pinelli, J. Mitrani-Reiser, K.Gurley, S.Hamid, N. Jones (2009). Risk analysis of Buildings with the Florida Public Hurricane Loss Model, Society of Risk Analysis Annual Meeting, Baltimore, December 2009.

G.L. Pita, J.-P. Pinelli, K.Gurley, J. Weekes, S.Hamid (2009). Vulnerability of mid-high rise commercial-residential buildings in the Florida Public Hurricane Loss Model, ESREL 2009. Prague. Czech Republic.

G.L. Pita, J.-P. Pinelli, K.Gurley, C. Subramanian, S.Hamid (2009). Vulnerability of low-rise commercial-residential buildings in the Florida Public Hurricane Loss Model, 11th American Conference of Wind Engineering, Puerto Rico.

J. Weekes, A. Balderrama, K. Gurley, J.-P. Pinelli, G.L. Pita, S. Hamid (2009). Physical Damage Modeling of Commercial-Residential Structures in Hurricane Winds, 11th American Conference of Wind Engineering, Puerto Rico.

G.L. Pita, J.-P. Pinelli, C.S. Subramanian, K. Gurley, S.Hamid, (2008). Hurricane Vulnerability of Multi-Story Residential Buildings in Florida, ESREL 2008, Valencia, Spain.

J.-P. Pinelli, S. Hamid, K. R. Gurley, G.L. Pita, C.S. Subramanian (2008). Impact of the 2004 Hurricane Season on the Florida Public Hurricane Loss Model, 2008 ASCE-IABSE-IStructE Structures Congress, Vancouver, Canada.

G.L. Pita, A. Lainati, and J.R. Saravia, (2004). Design Topics
for a Restricted Horizontal Force Arch Bridge, Steelbridge 2004,
Int’l Symposium on Steel Bridges, Millau, France.

Honors and Awards

  • 2016 Innovation Award – Finalist / The World Bank (2016)
  • Student Merit Award – Honor Mention / Society of Risk Analysis (2009)
  • Outstanding Ph.D. Student Award – Florida Tech (2009)
  • Outstanding Ph.D. Student Award – Florida Tech (2007)
  • Fulbright Graduate Scholarship (2006)
  • Talents Award – Highest GPA CE Depts. / Argentina (2003)

Professional Organizations

American Society of Civil Engineers