Maria Dillard

Background

About Maria Dillard

Dr. Maria Dillard is a research social scientist whose research is focused on community response to hazards and chronic stressors and the development of methods for measurement and modeling community resilience, well-being, and vulnerability. Her work includes development and application of a measurement model for community well-being following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, integrated assessments of community vulnerability to climate change for climate adaptation planning, and quantification of human use and dependence on natural resources. At NIST, Maria is working to expand research on community resilience with a particular emphasis on the social dimensions of disasters and recovery. In her current role, Dr. Dillard leads a multidisciplinary staff responsible for conducting fact-finding investigations focused on: building and infrastructure failures; successful building and infrastructure performance; evacuation and emergency response systems; and disaster recovery and community resilience. These investigations can be carried out under four different statutory authorities at NIST: National Construction Safety Team (NCST) Act, National Earthquake Hazard Reduction Program (NEHRP), National Windstorm Impact Reduction Program (NWIRP), and the NIST Organic Act. The results of these investigations are intended to inform recommendations to improve codes, standards, and practice.