Manuel Cuadra

1st Year PhD Student 

Manuel has been a research assistant with the IRG since 2020, focusing on the state of the practice in resilient adaptation, vulnerability and adaptability evaluation, and planning under Deep Uncertainty. 

He continues to research on infrastructure protection and resilience, taking new focus incorporating operational needs and practice into planning.

Experience in highway operation, and electricity infrastructure protection help inform his approach to building resilient models and recommendations.

Research Interests: 

Transportation Infrastructure, Resilience, Decision Making Under Deep Uncertainty. 

Education:

Georgia Institute of Technology, BS, Civil Engineering, August 2017 – May 2021

Georgia Institute of Technology, MS, Transportation Systems Engineering, August 2021 – May 2023

Georgia Institute of Technology, PhD Student, Transportation Systems Engineering, July 2024 – Present

Experience:

Operations Engineer at I-77 Mobility Partners (Cintra) | July 2023 – June 2024

Research Intern at Argonne National Lab | May 2022 – August 2022

Transportation Resilience Research Assistant | September 2020 – May 2023; July 2024 – Present

Intern at Gwinnett County DOT | May 2021 – August 2021

Publications:

  1. Cuadra, M., Garrett, A., Tennakoon, M., Amekudzi-Kennedy, A., Woodall, B., Ashuri, B., and P. Singh. Effective Practices in Flood Adaptation by Recognizing System, Organization, and Project Interdependencies. Transportation Research Record. Journal of the Transportation Research Board. Washington, D.C., 2024. https://doi.org/10.1177/03611981241231960
  2. Amekudzi-Kennedy, A., Singh, P., Williams, E., Cuadra, M., Ashuri, B., Woodall, B., Garrett, A., Tennakoon, M., Clark, R., and A. Dheeraj. Developing Transportation Resilience Adaptively to Climate Change: A Risk-Based, Adaptive and Mitigation-Based Approach. Transportation Research Record. Journal of the Transportation Research Board. Washington, D.C., 2023. https://doi.org/10.1177/03611981231186989
  3. Cuadra, M.  Uncertainty Planning: Integrating Deep Uncertainty in Resilience-Building in Transportation Infrastructure. A Thesis presented to the Academic Faculty in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in the School of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, April 2023. | Thesis Committee: A. Amekudzi-Kennedy, B. Ashuri, R. Clark, V. Marchau, P. Singh, T. Wall, & B. Woodall. https://hdl.handle.net/1853/72066

Presentations:

  1. Cuadra, M., and A. Amekudzi-Kennedy. Infrastructure Planning under Deeply Uncertain Conditions: Application of DMDU Concepts to Bridge Replacement Planning. Accepted for presentation at the 2024 Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board, January 7 – 11, 2024, Washington, D.C.
  2. Garrett, A., Yang, Z., Cuadra, M., Tennakoon, M., and A. Amekudzi-Kennedy. Resilience-Building Toolbox: Multi-Hazards Climate Vulnerability Assessment Tool, Resilience Evaluation Tool for LRTPs, Uncertainty Planning Guide, Resilience-Based Multicriteria Tool for Project Prioritization, and Adaptation Planning Guidebook. Technical Session. Transportation Research Board Resilience Conference, November 13-15, 2023, Washington, D.C., U.S.

Awards:

Dwight D. Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship Program (2021 – 2022), EAB Fellowship (2021 – 2022), CEE Mundy Fund (2022)