NRT research and innovation: Disaster prevention & mitigation
Millions of people around the world are affected by natural disasters each year. Earthquakes, wildfires, storms and other events claim lives, displace families, devastate communities and cause billions in economic losses. If global temperatures continue to climb because of climate change, the impact of natural disasters like severe storms and droughts is likely to increase significantly.
While natural disasters can't be stopped, researchers in various fields are working to find ways to minimize their impact. In partnership with other federal agencies and institutions, the U.S. National Science Foundation supports diverse researchers studying how to mitigate the impact of hurricanes, floods, wildfires, earthquakes, coastal erosion and more — to better protect communities, nations and vital ecosystems.
As part of this work, the National Research Traineeship (NRT) is helping to develop a new generation of scientists with the knowledge and skills to advance disaster prevention and mitigation efforts. These projects highlight the power of innovative, convergent training — and how it can help address critical threats to our society.
Auburn NRT Climate Resilience
In 2019, an interdisciplinary team at Auburn University launched Alabama's first NRT focused on leveraging data-informed decision-making to boost the region's resilience to climate-related disasters. The vision of Auburn's NRT on Climate Resilience centers on supporting a new generation of leaders prepared to guide communities in responding and recovering in the face of disaster.
Trainees participate in innovative research projects focused on understanding a specific community's resilience by assessing its natural, social and built environmental systems. The NRT uses a "transformative workshop-studio-internship training approach" that includes coursework on resilience, social vulnerability and science communication, studio-based workshops in which groups of trainees explore real-world scenarios and decision-making approaches, and an internship that provides opportunities to work hand in hand with community stakeholders. Principal investigator Karen McNeal shared that preparing science, technology, engineering and mathematics graduate students to better understand each community's "vulnerability, resiliency and recovery time is crucial as we continue to face more devastating and frequent natural disasters."
Disaster Resilience and Risk Management at Virginia Tech
Coastal communities face a range of climate-related threats, from severe storms to rising sea levels. Virginia Tech created an NRT to "change the way we think and talk about disaster resilience" through transdisciplinary training. The project's training model draws lessons from science, engineering, social science, business and public policy as a launching pad for exploring new ways to improve society's disaster resilience. Through partnering with faculty who bring deep experience in transdisciplinary disaster-resilience and risk management research and education, trainees gain the opportunity to develop cutting-edge practices to mitigate the impact of natural disasters in coastal regions.