Benjamin Rachunok

Ben Rachunok is an assistant professor in the Edward P. Fitts Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at NC State University. Broadly, Rachunok works in risk and decision analysis with applications in sustainability and climate change adaptation. More specifically, his research uses methods from simulation and data science to understand how communities respond to natural hazards and climate change. more

Works (18)

Updated: February 13th, 2026 00:20

2025 article

Anticipating Household Rescue Demand in Hurricanes Using Socio-Demographic Data and Machine Learning

Leavitt, P., Livingston, F., McConnell, B., Rachunok, B., Leavitt, P., Livingston, F., … Rachunok, B. (2025, January 1). SSRN Electronic Journal.

By: P. Leavitt n, F. Livingston n , B. McConnell n , B. Rachunok n , P. Leavitt, F. Livingston, B. McConnell, B. Rachunok

topics (OpenAlex):
Sources: NC State University Libraries, NC State University Libraries
Added: November 26, 2025

2025 article

Leveraging the American Housing Survey to Quantify Risk and Resilience

Hardaway, K., Best, K., & Rachunok, B. (2025, August 28). Risk Analysis, Vol. 8.

By: K. Hardaway *, K. Best * & B. Rachunok n 

author keywords: big data; climate change; community resilience; housing; natural hazards; risk
topics (OpenAlex): Flood Risk Assessment and Management; Disaster Management and Resilience; Housing Market and Economics
Sources: ORCID, Web Of Science, NC State University Libraries
Added: August 29, 2025

2024 article

Alternative household water affordability metrics using water bill delinquency behavior

Skerker, J. B., Verma, A., Edwards, M., Rachunok, B., & Fletcher, S. (2024, June 10). Environmental Research Letters, Vol. 19.

By: J. Skerker *, A. Verma *, M. Edwards*, B. Rachunok n  & S. Fletcher *

author keywords: water affordability; delinquency; urban water; water rates
topics (OpenAlex): Water resources management and optimization; Water Systems and Optimization
UN Sustainable Development Goals Color Wheel
UN Sustainable Development Goal Categories
Sources: ORCID, Web Of Science, NC State University Libraries
Added: June 22, 2024

2024 article

Electric vehicles limit equitable access to essential services during blackouts

Essus, Y., & Rachunok, B. (2024, October 17). Npj Sustainable Mobility and Transport.

By: Y. Essus n  & B. Rachunok n 

Contributors: Y. Essus n  & B. Rachunok n 

topics (OpenAlex): Electric Vehicles and Infrastructure; Advanced Battery Technologies Research; Energy and Environment Impacts
Source: ORCID
Added: April 1, 2025

2023 article

Predicting and understanding residential water use with interpretable machine learning

Rachunok, B., Verma, A., & Fletcher, S. (2023, December 11). Environmental Research Letters, Vol. 19.

By: B. Rachunok n , A. Verma * & S. Fletcher *

author keywords: drought; water use; water; machine learning
topics (OpenAlex): Water resources management and optimization; Water-Energy-Food Nexus Studies; Hydrology and Watershed Management Studies
TL;DR: This work uses post-hoc interpretability methods to examine how drivers of water use interact, focusing on environmental, demographic, physical housing, and utility policy factors, finding all four categories of factors are important for estimating water use with environmental and utility policy factors playing the largest role. (via Semantic Scholar)
UN Sustainable Development Goals Color Wheel
UN Sustainable Development Goal Categories
6. Clean Water and Sanitation (Web of Science; OpenAlex)
Sources: ORCID, Web Of Science, NC State University Libraries
Added: January 10, 2024

2023 article

Socio-hydrological drought impacts on urban water affordability

Rachunok, B., & Fletcher, S. (2023, January 19). Nature Water.

By: B. Rachunok*  & S. Fletcher*

topics (OpenAlex): Water resources management and optimization; Water-Energy-Food Nexus Studies; Flood Risk Assessment and Management
Source: ORCID
Added: January 19, 2023

2023 article

Socio-hydrological impacts of rate design on water affordability during drought

Nayak, A., Rachunok, B., Thompson, B., & Fletcher, S. (2023, November 3). Environmental Research Letters, Vol. 18.

By: A. Nayak *, B. Rachunok* , B. Thompson* & S. Fletcher*

author keywords: drought; water affordability; rate design; socio-hydrology; systems modeling
topics (OpenAlex): Water resources management and optimization; Water Systems and Optimization; Water-Energy-Food Nexus Studies
UN Sustainable Development Goals Color Wheel
UN Sustainable Development Goal Categories
6. Clean Water and Sanitation (Web of Science; OpenAlex)
Sources: ORCID, Web Of Science, NC State University Libraries
Added: November 15, 2023

2021 article

Mapping climate discourse to climate opinion: An approach for augmenting surveys with social media to enhance understandings of climate opinion in the United States

Bennett, J., Rachunok, B., Flage, R., & Nateghi, R. (2021, January 14). (N. Grabar, Ed.). PLoS ONE.

By: J. Bennett *, B. Rachunok* , R. Flage * & R. Nateghi *

Ed(s): N. Grabar

MeSH headings : Algorithms; Attitude; Climate; Geography; Models, Theoretical; Motivation; Social Media; Surveys and Questionnaires; United States
topics (OpenAlex): Climate Change Communication and Perception; Social Media and Politics; Risk Perception and Management
TL;DR: A machine learning framework—grounded in statistical learning theory and natural language processing—to augment climate change opinion surveys with social media data is outlined, allowing for discerning the regionally distinct topics and themes that contribute to climate opinions. (via Semantic Scholar)
UN Sustainable Development Goals Color Wheel
UN Sustainable Development Goal Categories
13. Climate Action (OpenAlex)
Source: ORCID
Added: January 19, 2023

2021 article

Overemphasis on recovery inhibits community transformation and creates resilience traps

Rachunok, B., & Nateghi, R. (2021, December 17). Nature Communications.

By: B. Rachunok*  & R. Nateghi *

topics (OpenAlex): Disaster Management and Resilience; Infrastructure Resilience and Vulnerability Analysis; Flood Risk Assessment and Management
TL;DR: It is shown that an overemphasis on recovery without accounting for transformation entrenches ‘resilience traps’–risk factors within a community that are predictive of recovery, but inhibit transformation. (via Semantic Scholar)
Source: ORCID
Added: January 19, 2023

2021 article

Short-term solar irradiance forecasting using convolutional neural networks and cloud imagery

Choi, M., Rachunok, B., & Nateghi, R. (2021, January 27). Environmental Research Letters, Vol. 16, p. 044045.

By: M. Choi *, B. Rachunok*  & R. Nateghi *

author keywords: solar irradiance forecasting; deep learning; convolutional neural network; satellite imagery; remote sensing; renewable energy
topics (OpenAlex): Solar Radiation and Photovoltaics; Photovoltaic System Optimization Techniques; Energy and Environment Impacts
TL;DR: A convolutional global horizontal irradiance prediction model is developed, using Convolutional neural networks and publicly accessible satellite cloud images to ensure efficient harvesting of the solar energy and reliable operation of the grid. (via Semantic Scholar)
UN Sustainable Development Goals Color Wheel
UN Sustainable Development Goal Categories
7. Affordable and Clean Energy (OpenAlex)
Source: ORCID
Added: January 19, 2023

2021 article

The overlooked environmental footprint of increasing Internet use

Obringer, R., Rachunok, B., Maia-Silva, D., Arbabzadeh, M., Nateghi, R., & Madani, K. (2021, January 11). Resources Conservation and Recycling, Vol. 167, p. 105389.

By: R. Obringer *, B. Rachunok* , D. Maia-Silva *, M. Arbabzadeh*, R. Nateghi * & K. Madani *

author keywords: Environmental footprint; Data center; Sustainability; Internet; Energy transition; Social responsibility
topics (OpenAlex): Green IT and Sustainability; Cloud Computing and Resource Management; Caching and Content Delivery
Source: ORCID
Added: January 19, 2023

2020 article

Assessing Global Environmental Sustainability Via an Unsupervised Clustering Framework

Kanmani, A. P., Obringer, R., Rachunok, B., & Nateghi, R. (2020, January 11). Sustainability, Vol. 12, p. 563.

By: A. Kanmani*, R. Obringer *, B. Rachunok*  & R. Nateghi *

author keywords: environmental sustainability; unsupervised learning; self-organized maps; global analysis; environmental performance index; clustering framework
topics (OpenAlex): Sustainable Development and Environmental Policy; Environmental Impact and Sustainability; Environmental and Social Impact Assessments
TL;DR: The proposed framework harnesses a clustering technique known as Self-Organized Maps to group countries based on their characteristic environmental performance metrics and track progression in terms of shifts within clusters over time and supports the hypothesis that the inconsistencies in the EPI calculation can lead to misrepresentations of the relative sustainability of countries over time. (via Semantic Scholar)
Source: ORCID
Added: January 19, 2023

2020 article

Assessment of wind power scenario creation methods for stochastic power systems operations

Rachunok, B., Staid, A., Watson, J.-P., & Woodruff, D. L. (2020, May 23). Applied Energy.

By: B. Rachunok* , A. Staid *, J. Watson * & D. Woodruff *

author keywords: Wind power; Scenario creation; Probabilistic scenarios; Scenario evaluation; Stochastic unit commitment; Production cost modeling
topics (OpenAlex): Electric Power System Optimization; Energy Load and Power Forecasting; Integrated Energy Systems Optimization
TL;DR: It is shown that the choice of scenario set can significantly impact system operating cost, renewable energy use, and the ability of the system to meet demand, highlighting the need for the use of performance-based assessments for scenario evaluation. (via Semantic Scholar)
UN Sustainable Development Goals Color Wheel
UN Sustainable Development Goal Categories
7. Affordable and Clean Energy (OpenAlex)
Source: ORCID
Added: January 19, 2023

2020 article

Asymmetrical response of California electricity demand to summer-time temperature variation

Kumar, R., Rachunok, B., Maia-Silva, D., & Nateghi, R. (2020, July 2). Scientific Reports.

By: R. Kumar *, B. Rachunok* , D. Maia-Silva * & R. Nateghi *

topics (OpenAlex): Building Energy and Comfort Optimization; Energy, Environment, and Transportation Policies; Energy and Environment Impacts; Energy Load and Power Forecasting
UN Sustainable Development Goals Color Wheel
UN Sustainable Development Goal Categories
13. Climate Action (OpenAlex)
Source: ORCID
Added: January 19, 2023

2020 article

Hurricane-induced power outage risk under climate change is primarily driven by the uncertainty in projections of future hurricane frequency

Alemazkoor, N., Rachunok, B., Chavas, D. R., Staid, A., Louhghalam, A., Nateghi, R., & Tootkaboni, M. (2020, September 17). Scientific Reports.

By: N. Alemazkoor *, B. Rachunok* , D. Chavas *, A. Staid *, A. Louhghalam *, R. Nateghi *, M. Tootkaboni *

topics (OpenAlex): Infrastructure Resilience and Vulnerability Analysis; Tropical and Extratropical Cyclones Research; Wind and Air Flow Studies
UN Sustainable Development Goals Color Wheel
UN Sustainable Development Goal Categories
13. Climate Action (OpenAlex)
Source: ORCID
Added: April 22, 2024

2019 article

The sensitivity of electric power infrastructure resilience to the spatial distribution of disaster impacts

Rachunok, B., & Nateghi, R. (2019, September 19). Reliability Engineering & System Safety.

By: B. Rachunok*  & R. Nateghi *

author keywords: Infrastructure; Resilience; Natural hazards
topics (OpenAlex): Infrastructure Resilience and Vulnerability Analysis; Disaster Management and Resilience; Smart Grid Security and Resilience
TL;DR: It is found that incorporating information about the spatial distribution of disaster impacts has significant implications for estimating infrastructure resilience, and the uncertainty associated with estimated infrastructure resilience metrics to spatially distributed disaster-induced disruptions is much higher than determined by previous methods. (via Semantic Scholar)
Source: ORCID
Added: January 19, 2023

2019 article

Twitter and Disasters: A Social Resilience Fingerprint

Rachunok, B. A., Bennett, J. B., & Nateghi, R. (2019, January 1). IEEE Access, Vol. 7, pp. 58495–58506.

By: B. Rachunok* , J. Bennett * & R. Nateghi *

author keywords: Data analysis; human computer interaction; resilience; Twitter
topics (OpenAlex): Disaster Management and Resilience; Public Relations and Crisis Communication; Complex Network Analysis Techniques; Infrastructure Resilience and Vulnerability Analysis
TL;DR: It is shown that major disasters such as hurricanes and earthquakes have a unique resilience fingerprint which is consistent between different events of the same type and specifically, hurricanes have a distinct fingerprint which differentiates them from other major events. (via Semantic Scholar)
Source: ORCID
Added: January 19, 2023

2018 article

Stochastic Unit Commitment Performance Considering Monte Carlo Wind Power Scenarios

Rachunok, B., Staid, A., Watson, J.-P., Woodruff, D. L., & Yang, D. (2018, June 1). 2018 IEEE International Conference on Probabilistic Methods Applied to Power Systems (PMAPS).

By: B. Rachunok* , A. Staid *, J. Watson *, D. Woodruff * & D. Yang *

topics (OpenAlex): Electric Power System Optimization; Power System Reliability and Maintenance; Energy Load and Power Forecasting
TL;DR: Examining tradeoffs between computational complexity and quality in stochastic unit commitment using real-world wind power data in the context of an out-of-sample production cost model simulation finds unexpected transitions in computational difficulty at a specific threshold in the number of scenarios. (via Semantic Scholar)
UN Sustainable Development Goals Color Wheel
UN Sustainable Development Goal Categories
7. Affordable and Clean Energy (OpenAlex)
Source: ORCID
Added: January 19, 2023

Employment

Updated: January 19th, 2023 15:27

2023 - present

North Carolina State University Raleigh, North Carolina, US
Assistant Professor Industrial & Systems Engineering

2021 - 2022

Stanford University Stanford, CA, US
Postdoc Civil & Environmental Engineering

Education

Updated: January 13th, 2021 10:32

2016 - 2020

Purdue University West Lafayette, IN, US
Ph.D. School of Industrial Engineering

Funding History

Funding history based on the linked ORCID record. Updated: March 31st, 2025 11:15

grant June 1, 2024 - June 1, 2025
North Carolina Short-term Power Outage Prediction
U.S. Department of Energy

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