Susan Cutter

Susan Cutter is a Carolina Distinguished Professor of Geography at the University of South Carolina and director of the Hazards and Vulnerability Research Institute. She has authored or edited 16 books, 150-plus peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, and mentored more than 80 master's and doctoral students. Her research focuses on vulnerability and resilience science with specific reference to methods, models, and metrics. Her scientific contributions include the hazards of place model of vulnerability, the disaster resilience of place model, as well as tools for assessing spatial and temporal variability in vulnerability (Social Vulnerability Index or SoVI®) and resilience (Baseline Resilience Indicators for Communities Index). Her policy-relevant work focuses on the evidentiary basis for hazard mitigation and disaster recovery policy and practice at local, state, national, and international levels. In particular, she continues to lead investigations of the disproportionate spatial and temporal impacts of disasters on vulnerable populations and the places where they live. Cutter is an elected member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She received an honorary doctorate from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (2015) and was elected as a foreign member of the Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters. She was also the recipient of her discipline’s highest awards: American Association of Geographers Lifetime Achievement, Presidential Achievement, and the Wilbanks Award for Transformation Research.