The Global Analytics Observatory (GAO) is a world-leading hub of data-driven discovery and systems intelligence focused on the intertwined challenges of climate, infrastructure, mobility, and human health. Using advanced analytics, AI-driven modeling, digital twins, and cross-disciplinary systems engineering, GAO produces rigorous, policy-relevant insights that empower governments, industries, and communities to make informed decisions. By integrating environmental data, urban systems science, and public health analytics, GAO delivers trusted knowledge to guide sustainable, resilient, and equitable futures in cities around the world.
About the Global Analytics Observatory (GAO)
The Global Analytics Observatory (GAO), led by Professor H. Oliver Gao, is a transdisciplinary research enterprise advancing the science of complex urban, environmental, and health systems. GAO brings together engineering, data science, environmental health, urban planning, computer science, and policy to create an integrated analytics ecosystem for tackling society’s most pressing challenges.
GAO’s work spans:
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Climate and air quality modeling
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Digital twins of urban mobility, infrastructure, and emissions
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Environmental health exposure and epidemiological analytics
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Sustainable transportation and energy systems
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Urban resilience and public health decision-support systems
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Systems-informed technology and policy design
Through partnerships with government agencies, global organizations, and industry innovators, GAO accelerates translational science and delivers actionable intelligence. The observatory serves as the analytic backbone for broader initiatives including the Center for Urban Systems, Climate & Health (CUSCH), the Systems Health & Environmental Infrastructure Platform (SHEIP), and the TECH Open Lab commercialization ecosystem.
GAO represents a new model of scholarship—uniting discovery, data, and design to improve human and planetary health.
The GAO Lab
The Gao Lab advances next-generation solutions at the intersection of urban systems, environmental sustainability, digital technology, and public health. The group develops integrative models and data-driven frameworks to understand and optimize complex systems that shape daily life in cities—from transportation and energy systems to air quality, climate resilience, and population health. Our work combines systems engineering, machine learning, urban analytics, and policy design to confront the grand challenges of the 21st century: how to build healthier, smarter, and more sustainable communities.
Our research philosophy is rooted in transdisciplinary collaboration and societal impact. Working across engineering, environmental science, economics, medicine, and public policy, we design tools and insights that translate directly into decision-making for government agencies, industry partners, and community stakeholders. The Gao Group has produced innovations such as the Cornell Urban Air Quality Post-Processing Software (CU-PPS)—the official tool supporting New York City’s clean air compliance—and new digital platforms for urban health modeling, climate-smart mobility, and infrastructure intelligence. By integrating technology, human behavior, environmental processes, and health outcomes into unified system models, our group aims to create actionable knowledge that enables cities to thrive economically while protecting the well-being of their residents.