Dr. Erica Kuligowski is a Principal Research Fellow and ARC Future Fellow in the School of Engineering studying evacuation and emergency communications during bushfire, building fires, and other hazards.
Erica Kuligowski has expertise in decision-making and response behaviour of people under imminent threat, emergency communications, and evacuation modelling. With a PhD in Sociology and Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in Fire Engineering, she has led interdisciplinary research studies of human response to hazards and disasters to improve the safety of people in buildings and communities around the world. Prior to joining RMIT University, Erica worked for 18 years in the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Engineering Laboratory where she performed research on evacuation and sheltering behaviour and emergency communications in disaster events, including building fire, severe weather, and bushfire. Erica’s work has led to the development of new or improved building codes and community standards, decision-making tools for disaster response such as evacuation models, and emergency alert/warning creation tools and templates.
