João Gomes Cortes (he/him)

College of Engineering

PhD in Engineering and Public Policy

Hometown: portugal

1. Briefly describe the work you're doing in your program at CMU.

   At CMU, I study how changes to the structure of Barcelona's transport network, such as adding, removing, or reconfiguring links and public services, shift who breathes polluted air and who can reach healthcare. Using geospatial network analysis and empirical methods, I model how specific topological interventions affect network-wide emissions, how they change physical and economic access to healthcare for the most vulnerable communities, and whether a binding trade-off exists between access equity and exposure equity. The goal is to identify which interventions perform best across both dimensions and give policymakers evidence to design transport policy that does not trade one form of inequity for another.

2. How did you develop an interest in this area? 

   I have always been drawn to the intersection of economics, data science, and climate—particularly to using AI and Deep Learning methods to improve climate policy decisions. After working in AI and Data Science for the European Central Bank and Deloitte, this project gave that interest a concrete direction: it originated at the European Commission's Joint Research Centre, building on the JRC's work on transport poverty under the EU's Social Climate Fund, and it funded my first year at the University of Lisbon. Working on it challenged me to ask how climate-driven transport policy could protect, rather than burden, the most vulnerable households—a question that opened onto my wider interest in the political economy of decarbonization: how the transition's costs and benefits are distributed, and how well-designed public investment can steer it toward broadly shared prosperity rather than merely compensating those left behind.

3. What are your academic and/or professional goals? 

   I want to lead a research unit that knows how to bring AI and Deep Learning to the center of strategic policy decision-making—helping governments address structural challenges critical for the green industrial transition, and design policies whose benefits reach the people and places that need them most.

4. How do you spend your time beyond academic work?

   In my free time, I like to go trail running with my PhD cohort and explore nature. I also try to be there for the people around me—to listen, support, and encourage—which I've learned takes intention, especially in a PhD.