Zaira Pagan-Cajigas is a fourth-year Ph.D. candidate in the Industrial and Operations Engineering department at the University of Michigan, advised by Dr. Seth Guikema. 

Her research focuses on assessing the effects of natural hazards on the functionality of critical services and infrastructures and evaluating the building-level access to functional services before, during, and after the event. Previously, she developed a synthetic water distribution system using only publicly available data. This synthetic system is useful for analyzing the impact of hazards on water availability at the individual building level. She is a SHPE Scholar and a Rackham Merit Fellow.

Her research interests include disaster risk assessment, resilience analysis, critical infrastructure, and predictive data analytics. 

Position Sought: Seeking a full-time opportunity to apply my expertise in data analytics and community resilience in academia or industry sectors. 

Expected Graduation: April 2025 

INFORMS at the University of Michigan 

• Antiracism, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Chair, 2022 - Present

• Ph.D. and M.S. Mentorship Program, 2021 - Present 

• Volunteer with a nonprofit organization as part of our Pro-Bono team, 2021 

Society for Risk Analysis (SRA) 

• Engineering and Infrastructure Specialty Group Secretary and Treasurer, 2023 - 2024

• Justice, Equity, and Risk Specialty Group Student Member, 2021 - Present