Dr. Laura Bakkensen is an Associate Professor at the University of Arizona’s School of Government and Public Policy. She utilizes applied microeconomic and econometric techniques to study the economics of natural disasters, identifying current hazard risks and evidence of adaptation to damages and fatalities across the globe. Her research informs policy on insurance regulation, post-disaster aid, weather warnings, and public adaptation projects. Dr. Bakkensen received her Ph.D. in Environmental and Natural Resource Economics from Yale University. She was previously a visiting researcher at the Euro-Mediterranean Center for Climate Change in Venice, Italy and received a Fulbright Teaching Grant to South Korea. She was awarded a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Gulf Research Program Early-Career Research Fellowship.