Gregory Characklis, PhD
About
Dr. Characklis serves as William R. Kenan, Jr. Distinguished Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he holds appointments in both the Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering and the UNC Institute for the Environment. His primary research interests involve developing solutions to water resource challenges through systems-based approaches that integrate consideration of both engineering and economic principles, with a particular focus on evaluating and managing environmental financial risk. Dr. Characklis is also Director of the Center on Financial Risk in Environmental Systems, an entity focused on translating environmental events (e.g., flood, drought) into financial outcomes, and one that bridges the Gillings School of Global Public Health and the UNC Institute for the Environment. The Center is currently engaged in projects funded by NSF, DOE, NIEHS and North Carolina state government to quantify the financial risks of hydrologic extremes in a number of economic sectors, including water utilities, power utilities, agriculture, inland navigation (e.g., Great Lakes) and real estate.
Dr. Characklis serves on the Editorial Board of Water Security, and has previously held editorial positions with the journals Water Resources Research and Hydrology and Earth System Sciences. In 2014 he was selected as a Fellow by the National Academy of Sciences’ Kavli Frontiers of Science, and in 2010 he was named an Aldo Leopold Leadership Fellow by Stanford University's Woods Institute for the Environment.
Prior to joining UNC, Dr. Characklis spent two years as Director of Resource Development and Management at Azurix Corp. (a subsidiary of Enron Corp.). where his responsibilities centered around assessing the technical and financial merits of water supply development projects. Before entering the private sector, he spent two years in Washington, D.C. as a Fellow with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.
Dr. Characklis holds a Ph.D. and an M.S. in Environmental Science and Engineering from Rice University and a B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering from Johns Hopkins University.
Gregory Characklis in the Gillings News
- New UNC study quantifies $562M in financial risk from Hurricane Florence using novel modeling approach that evaluates risk of mortgage default and property abandonment
- Strategic planning retreat explores financial loss and uncertainty amid environmental events
- Cooperation rewards water utilities
- Water supply portfolios must be viable for all partners
- NSF grant supports research into droughts, electric power, air pollution and health
Education
- PhD, Environmental Science and Engineering, Rice University, 1999
- MS, Environmental Science and Engineering, Rice University, 1994
- BS, Materials Science and Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, 1989
