EV1-226, ext. 41734
peter.crank@uwaterloo.ca
Peter J. Crank joined the Department in 2023 as an Assistant Professor. As an urban geographer and climatologist who received his PhD in Geography from Arizona State University (ASU), he studies urban climate and impacts of neighborhood scale urban design on microclimates and human health. His work has centered in hot cities, including Singapore and Phoenix as well as mid-sized cities of the US Southern Plains. In Singapore, he worked with the Cooling Singapore 2.0 project with SEC-ETH and Singapore Management University. At ASU, Peter worked in the School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning, the Urban Climate Research Center, the Design School, and the Health Urban Environments Initiative on various projects in the U.S. examining extreme heat and air quality impacts on the elderly, neighborhood planning and design, city park designs, and school renovations through field measurements, remotely sensed measurement via helicopter, and numerical modeling. Peter has a B.S. degree in broadcast meteorology (television) from Mississippi State University (MSU) before pursuing degrees in applied climate and geography at MSU (M.S.) and Ph.D. (ASU).
Peter’s research seeks to address questions of modelling urban spaces to understand the impact urban climate mitigation strategies have on the thermal environment as well as on all facets of human health (from physical heat stress to psychological disorders). His work has spanned across several U.S. cities in the Sunbelt, including Jackson (MS), Houston (TX), Phoenix (AZ), and Los Angeles (CA) in addition to work in Singapore. His team focuses on the impacts of a changing climate for individuals and the local environment. Strong physical and applied climatology skills in addition to data analytics, computer science, and instrumentation are key to this group.
For more information or if you are interested in joining Peter's group, please reach out to him: peter.crank@uwaterloo.ca
Key Areas of Graduate Supervision
- Urban climate; urban overheating; urban environmental health; microclimate modeling
Recent Courses Taught
- Advanced Environmental Research Methods (ENV 278 - Fall 2023)
- Climate Services (GEOG 314 - Winter 2024)
- Energy Balance Climatology (GEOG 409- Winter 2024)