The Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems is one of N-EWN’s founding partners, alongside the U.S. Army of Engineers, Engineering With Nature Initiative. Ultimately, our commitment to Engineering With Nature lies in our mission statement:

  • To advance the integration of natural and conventional infrastructure systems to strengthen long term resilience to flooding, sea level rise, drought, and other disruptions.
  • To empower communities, businesses, and institutions to deliver infrastructure strategies that equitably provide enhanced social, economic, and environmental benefits
  • To support informed decision making through interdisciplinary expertise, cutting edge tools and techniques, holistic graduate education and collaborative partnerships.

We have over 18 researchers from disciplines ranging from engineering to the social sciences to ecology, all striving toward a future with more resilient communities and ecosystems.

Learn about our research

Our research is designed to be put directly in the hands of our stakeholders, to be used as tools in creating real-world change. As part of N-EWN, and in partnership with the EWN team, we’re currently engaged in over 12 projects designed to overcome barriers to natural infrastructure adoption and accelerate the field. Read about them here.

We specialize in:

  • Natural infrastructure planning, design and evaluation of social, economic and environmental performance
  • Flood and drought management and modeling
  • Risk communication for communities and businesses
  • Water resources planning and management
  • Coastal adaptation planning for sea level rise
  • Infrastructure designs and standards that accommodate a changing environment (land use and climate)
  • Water governance and social justice issues
  • Strategic placement of dredge material
  • Interdisciplinary graduate education and training
  • Ecological engineering of river, wetland, forest, coastal and urban ecosystems

IRIS News Highlights

  • Stantec Announces N-EWN Partnership

    Stantec Announces N-EWN Partnership

    Stantec, an engineering firm who specializes in community-minded designs (whether in engineering, architecture, energy, water or project management) recently announced their N-EWN partnership. In a recent news release, they said: Today’s environmental, social, and economic fabric can be enhanced with the integration of nature-based solutions, also known as Engineering with Nature (EWN)®, and that enhancement […]


  • Don’t miss out! Upcoming N-EWN Events & Media

    Don’t miss out! Upcoming N-EWN Events & Media

    Live Lecture: Engineering the Nature of Change TONIGHT 7 FEB, 6:30 PM CT The first lecture in this five-part series features Dr. Todd Bridges, National Lead for USACE Engineering With Nature®. Dr. Bridges will speak about Innovating for a More Resilient and Sustainable Future. The series is one of only two Presidential Dream Courses held by […]


  • New Graduate Assistantship Opportunities

    New Graduate Assistantship Opportunities

    Ph.D. Student Assistantship in Atmospheric Science/Coastal Engineering Position Description: The University of Georgia (UGA) Department of Geography (https://geography.uga.edu/) and the School of Environmental, Civil, Agriculture, and Mechanical Engineering (https://engineering.uga.edu/schools/ecam) is seeking a highly-motivated Ph.D. student to begin Fall 2023. The graduate student will work under Dr. Matthew Bilskie and Dr. Marshall Shepherd with an affiliation […]