Nada Petrovic

AAAS Fellow, US Agency for International Development, Bureau for Policy, Planning, and Learning

Nada Petrovic’s broad research interests include the interaction between people and their environment and how science can influence positive global change. In particular, she is interested in the interpretation and use of scientific information by the general public in the context of natural disasters and environmental threats. At CRED, she studied how the content of information about severe weather events influences risk perception and evacuation decisions.

Nada is currently an American Association for the Advancement of Science fellow at the US Agency for International Development (USAID) in their Bureau for Policy, Planning, and Learning. She received her Ph.D. in Physics from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 2011. Her thesis work in complex systems developed optimal suppression strategies for California wildfires by coupling physical models and economic damage estimates, prompting her interest in natural hazards. Through the Luce Environmental Science to Solutions Fellowship she examined the effects of coral reef decline on vulnerable populations, working as part of an interdisciplinary team. These experiences and her work with Engineers Without Borders motivated her to shift focus from pure science to the role of science in a societal context.