Stephan Thies is a PhD candidate in Sustainable Development at Columbia University. His research revolves around the impacts of climate change and natural disasters on urban development and economic geography. Prior to joining Columbia’s PhD program, he worked as a consultant for the World Bank’s Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery. Stephan holds a BSc in Economics from Freie Universität Berlin (Germany), an MSc in Statistics from Imperial College London (UK), and an MA in International Trade, Finance, and Development from Barcelona Graduate School of Economics (Spain).