Institute of Water Research

Biography:

Dr. Mahsa Adib is an Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture in the School of Planning, Design, and Construction at Michigan State University. Her research operates at the intersection of environmental planning and design, geospatial science, and machine learning, advancing the human dimensions of water resilience. She studies the coupled dynamics of natural water systems and human infrastructure, examining how communities and institutions adopt and steward nature-based solutions for stormwater management, flood mitigation, and watershed protection; how compound heat and flood events reshape community mobility and access to essential services; and how machine learning tools for stormwater forecasting and green infrastructure siting can better incorporate local knowledge and stewardship behavior. Drawing on environmental psychology and policy analysis, she also investigates the social and institutional factors that shape adoption and long-term stewardship. Across these threads, this research enables agencies, municipalities, and communities to co-design adaptation pathways that are technically sound, socially legitimate, and locally actionable