Jupiter Strengthens Wildfire Analytics Team With Hiring of Dr. Craig Smith

Former PG&E Expert Fire Weather Meteorologist Will Lead FireScore at Jupiter


SAN MATEO, Calif., May 07, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Jupiter Intelligence, the leading provider of predictive data and analytics for climate risk, today announced that Dr. Craig Smith has joined the company as a Fire Science Specialist. Dr. Smith, formerly Pacific Gas and Electric’s (PG&E) Expert Fire Weather Meteorologist, will help spearhead the upcoming launch of Jupiter’s FireScore™ wildfire risk product.

Dr. Smith’s background includes nearly a decade as a professor and researcher in explosive wildfire weather and climate in California, along with experience leading the development of a Fire Danger Index used operationally for decision support around de-energization (or Public Safety Power Shutdown events).  As a new addition to Jupiter’s team, Dr. Smith will use his expertise in wildfire risk assessment and navigating the California utility sector as Jupiter deploys its FireScore service later this summer.

“As Jupiter continues to expand its scope and services into new perils, geographies, and industry verticals, our upcoming FireScore risk assessment product will be an invaluable tool for businesses needing to understand their wildfire risk exposure and adapt accordingly,” Dr. Smith said. “Between human encroachment into the Wildland Urban Interface and climatic scale changes in vegetation and fuels, wildfire risk is going to increasingly disrupt a number of key industries in essential markets. I’m thrilled to be part of the team that’s helping people adapt to this looming, dangerous problem.”

Jupiter’s FireScore risk assessment product is planned for launch in the summer of 2019, with additional features anticipated throughout the year.

“Dr. Smith’s addition to the team comes at a critical moment as communities in California and elsewhere prepare for the increasingly destructive annual wildfire season,” said Rich Sorkin, CEO and Co-founder of Jupiter. “The ability to accurately understand the infrastructure and operational risk is going to be essential as a whole range of industries race to adapt - from finance and insurance to utilities, real estate, logistics, and the public sector.” 

About Jupiter:

Jupiter is the global leader in data and analytics services to help make informed decisions that safeguard critical at-risk infrastructure from extreme weather, sea-level rise, storm intensification and rising temperatures caused by short, medium and long-term climate change. Jupiter’s ClimateScore™ Intelligence Platform provides sophisticated, dynamic, hyper-local, current-hour-to-50-plus-year probabilistic risk analysis for weather in a changing climate. The company’s FloodScore™ and HeatScore™ services are already used for managing climate-related risk assessment and management in New York City, South Florida, Houston and Europe with global expansion underway. Jupiter’s models are based on the latest science, as developed by the global Earth and Ocean Systems science community.

Jupiter offers commercial services to asset owners in critical infrastructure, financial services including insurance and banking, energy and real estate, and the public sector. These customers use Jupiter services for a broad range of applications, including capital planning, risk management, site selection, design requirements, supply chain management, investment valuations, and shareholder disclosures.

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Hugh Moore
Broadsheet Communications
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