RCN-SEES: Finding Common Ground: Developing Sustainable Networks of Women Scientists for Addressing Issues of Environmental Hazards

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Mitigating the impact of natural environmental hazards and climate change is a major challenge. Reducing societal vulnerability goes beyond understanding seismographic and meteorological data and must integrate the human, economic and social influences on risk assessment, hazard preparedness and disaster response. To increase the intellectual capacity to anticipate and mitigate the effects of environmental hazards, this project will develop a multidisciplinary research network to increase the number of women (an underrepresented group) in environmental hazards scholarship. This international effort will couple practitioners in the fields of geosciences, atmospheric science, economics and other social sciences in the U.S, with those in Latin America and the Caribbean, two areas that are particularly vulnerable to the risks posed by natural hazards due to their rapid urbanization, poorly engineered construction, inadequate infrastructure, poverty and other factors. Through engaging research workshops and the use of collaborative cybertools, we will (1) create an international network of women with common research interests in environmental hazards; (2) use this network to build intellectual leadership capacity in this area through activities that broaden knowledge of the scientific and social science research on environmental hazards, and (3) promote network growth and assess its impact on participants. The network will facilitate the exchange of research ideas, build strong multi-disciplinary research teams, create networking relationships and broaden the knowledge base of participants in both the human and geological sciences (i.e. risk assessment, management and preparedness and socio-economic and political factors associated with environmental hazards). Workshops will lay the foundation for the longer-term cyber enabled network that will facilitate and enhance the research activities of the participants and sustain cross-disciplinary dialogue. Understanding the factors (including the cyber enabled activities) that are most effective in developing and maintaining distributed, interdisciplinary, international research networks will inform other scholarly communities and improve the effectiveness of social networks in technical fields. Broadening the participation of women in science, technology, engineering and math is central to increasing national competitiveness and addressing environmental hazards issues that have significant implications for our society. The network is designed to increase the numbers, retention and leadership of women researchers, students, postdocs in the field, to educate them in multidisciplinary aspects of environmental hazard research and to engage them in activities that provide outreach to citizens in at-risk communities where environmental hazards are among the major causes of death and disease, particularly for women and young children, and women play a key role in preparing for and mitigating disasters. This project will have an enormous impact on a wide range of environmental hazards posed by meteorological phenomena, such as hurricanes, storms, droughts and floods; and geophysical activity, such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, mudslides, and tsunamis. It will improve our disaster preparedness, enhance hazard mitigation efforts, and provide for much more effective hazard response. Engaging a diverse participant pool through well-designed team-building activities will result in strong collaborative research and an enduring network of scholars that will make a lasting contribution to the field of hazards and sustainability science.