News and updates from the Coastal Resilience Center, a DHS Center of Excellence.
November 2021
Representatives of FEMA, NOAA, DHS, and CRC meet to discuss Support Strategies for Socially Marginalized Neighborhoods
From the report: Who are most impacted by natural hazards?
Drs. Cassandra R. Davis and Phil Berke from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill recently presented their report, Support Strategies for Marginalized Neighborhoods Likely Impacted by Natural Hazards, to a gathering of key representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Department of Homeland Security Science & Technology Directorate, and the DHS Coastal Resilience Center of Excellence. The online presentation was followed by an open, collaborative discussion among event participants on how the different organizations can better come together to address the issues and questions raised in the report.
The presentation and discussion help lay the groundwork for Davis' and Berke's current work on addressing data equity in natural disaster response.
The PowerPoint presentation for the event can be found here.
In early October, the Coastal Resilience Center hosted an online, two-day workshop facilitated by Dr. Sandra Knight of WaterWonks, LLC. The workshop was designed to convene port and waterways subject matter experts and decision-makers to address several key objectives related to the MTS Resilience Assessment Guide, which is a joint effort between DHS, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and the Engineer Research and Development Center. Objectives included identifying potential technical improvements or gaps in the content and process, discussion and recommendations for uses and users of the Guide, and identifying opportunities to transition and institutionalize the Guide.
Other outcomes from the workshop included an opportunity to showcase the research and studies that create the foundation for the Guide, and to strengthen and expand the network of experts and decision-makers working to make our ports and waterways more resilient.
CRC researchers participate in Health of Our State and Beyond Series: Coastal Resilience
Using satellite imagery, geophysical models, and survey data, the team hopes to document the short- and long-term impacts of flood events and how people recover from them to help North Carolinians and other coastal communities prepare for the coming decades – and the storms they’ll continue to face. The Master of Ceremonies for the event was Amanda Martin, Chief Resilience Officer, North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency.
Realistic 3D visualization for Eastham, Mass. along the Cape Cod National Seashore using
Advanced Circulation (ADCIRC) modeling results of the March 2018 Nor'easter with 1.0 m sea level rise.
Researchers at the University of Rhode Island and Penn State University have been awarded a four-year, $1.5 million grant through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to study the effects of sea level rise and how it may exacerbate the impact of extreme weather. Led by Coastal Resilience Center investigator Dr. Isaac Ginis, the project will draw on expertise from researchers at URI’s Graduate School of Oceanography, its College of the Environment and Life Sciences, the Department of Ocean Engineering within the URI College of Engineering, and the URI Coastal Resources Center.
The project was supported by all four members of Rhode Island’s congressional delegation and received letters of support from more than 15 local communities and local non-profits.
Several Coastal Resilience Center partners were recently ranked in the top 25% by US News and World Report: Tougaloo College was ranked no. 15, Jackson State University was ranked at no. 18, and Johnson C. Smith University was ranked at no. 30.
Tougaloo College is host to one of CRC's projects, Expanding and Strengthening the Institutionalized Multidisciplinary Certificate: Disaster and Coastal Studies, led by Dr. Meherun Laiju.
Jackson State is the home to CRC's Executive Director Tom Richardson and Education & Workforce Director Dr. Robert Whalin, who leads the development of Jackson State's PhD in Engineering (Coastal Engineering and Computational Engineering) at an HBCU, as well as the project Community Resilience: Education and Training Endeavors (CREATE) led by Dr. Jessica Murphy.
Johnson C. Smith University hosts the CRC project, Preparing Tomorrow’s Minority Task Force in Coastal Resilience Through Interdisciplinary Education, Research, and Curriculum Development, led by Dr. Ahmed Faik.
To qualify for the U.S. News rankings, an HBCU also must be an undergraduate baccalaureate-granting institution that enrolls primarily first-year, first-time students, and must be a school that is part of the 2022 Best Colleges rankings. The full US News and World Report ranking of all 79 HBCU's can be found here.
In other news, The University of Texas at Austin is now recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI), since Latinos now make up at least 25% of its undergraduate population. This means the university is now eligible for special federal grants and loans. UT Austin is a partner for the CRC project, Improving the Efficiency of Flooding and Wave Prediction, led by Dr. Clint Dawson.
CRC in the news
As we make our way through each hurricane season, CRC researchers are often called upon by the media to offer insights on CRC-related enhancements to federal forecasting capabilities or improvements to planning for disasters.
Some of this year's most recent media engagements include:
See more coverage of our researchers at https://unc.live/3fcjAaD. For hurricane season-specific content, visit https://unc.live/2ROcxIf. We ask that when any of our CRC researchers are contacted by media for hurricane or other natural disaster-related interviews, please let CRC communications manager Matt Bryant know by emailing him at mbryant1@unc.edu. This information is used to update the CRC website and for our reporting to the Department of Homeland Security.
Funding and research opportunities
To submit CRC-related funding, internship, and research opportunities for the e-newsletter, please send all relevant info to Matt Bryant, mbryant1@unc.edu.
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We would like to feature any news and updates related to our researchers, students, industry and government partners, and the communities we work with. We're interested in documenting any of your coastal resilience activities and events, publications, funding awards, workshops or conferences, including behind-the-scenes and did-you-know? type content. Please reach out to Matt Bryant with any content at mbryant1@unc.edu and be sure to follow and engage with us on our social media channels below.
The Coastal Resilience Center is funded by a grant from the Department of Homeland Security
Science & Technology Directorate's Office of University Programs
