Divya Chandrasekhar

Divya Chandrasekhar is an Associate Professor and current Chair in the Department of City & Metropolitan Planning at the University of Utah. Her expertise focuses on community recovery from disasters, with research examining post-disaster community participation, capacity building, networking among recovery institutions, and disaster recovery policy across South and Southeast Asia, the Caribbean, and the U.S.

Dr. Chandrasekhar's educational background includes:

• Bachelor's degree in Physical Planning from the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi (2003)
• Master's degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2005)
• Ph.D. in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2010)

Her research centers on post-disaster community recovery planning, disaster mitigation, adaptation planning, and long-term capacity building for disaster resilience. She investigates stakeholder decision-making processes and their interaction with socioeconomic, institutional, and policy systems across all geographies and all natural hazards. Her work emphasizes community participation, networking among recovery institutions, and building local capacity to enhance disaster resilience.

Dr. Chandrasekhar's scholarly output demonstrates a consistent focus on disaster recovery across multiple contexts including Hurricane Sandy, Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, and earthquakes in the U.S. Her research spans community recovery, business resilience, nonprofit capacity, and public housing recovery, with increasing attention to intersectional approaches and social equity in disaster contexts.

Among her notable recognitions:

• Career Champion of the Year (2021, University of Utah)
• Banner Project (2020, University of Utah)
• Top Researcher Honoree, Celebrate U (2017, University of Utah)

Dr. Chandrasekhar has secured significant research funding from the National Science Foundation, National Institute of Transportation and Communities, Department of the Interior, and the Natural Hazards Center at Boulder. She serves on multiple professional committees including the Utah State Hazard Mitigation Team, the Roundtable on Risk and Resilience of Extreme Events of the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine, and has served on the Utah Seismic Safety Commission.

She leads research teams examining disaster recovery processes and has established collaborations across multiple institutions and government agencies to advance understanding of community resilience and recovery planning.