NRT: Addressing resiliency to climate-related hazards and disasters through data-informed decision making

在美国，与气候有关的自然灾害和灾害损失正在升级，往往是数十亿美元的事件(例如飓风、严重风暴、内陆洪水、农作物冻结、干旱和野火)。该项目旨在培训下一代科学家和领导者，他们能够帮助建立有弹性的社区，这些社区能够为破坏性的危险事件做好准备，能够有效地应对并迅速恢复。为了更好地理解复原力规划的复杂性并提高可预测性，迫切需要整合多层信息的方法进步。具体而言，要取得进展，需要更好地了解影响自然、社会和已建环境系统复原力的因素；这些系统如何相互作用；以及基于复原力的具体措施和沟通战略的有效性。如果没有这样的进展，社区复原力方面的差距将持续存在，减少与气候有关的灾害影响的决策努力可能会受到误导。这项授予奥本大学的国家科学基金会研究培训(NRT)奖将培养一支未来的劳动力队伍，他们将通过培训硕士和博士水平的个人来培养美国东南部与气候有关的灾难恢复能力。学生将在一个综合和多学科的框架内进行研究，目的是更好地了解、预测和交流自然、社会和建造的环境系统的弹性。该项目预计将培训36(36)名MS和博士生，其中包括18(18)名资助的学员，涉及地球系统科学、工程学、地球科学、林业和野生动物科学、气候科学、数据科学、农业和社会科学。该NRT项目的目标是解决与气候相关的自然灾害和灾害的复原力相关的跨学科研究问题，同时培训下一代科学家和工程师认识到利益相关者的数据驱动的决策需求，并有效地向利益相关者和公众传播科学信息。该项目将采用一种变革性的车间-工作室-实习培训方法。利益相关者和受训者之间将进行双向交流和直接互动，使受训者接触到现实世界的问题和可能的职业道路。除了指导论文研究，学员还将参加：(1)关于复原力和社会脆弱性的课程，(2)关于科学交流的课程，(3)将学员和利益攸关方聚集在一起解决现实世界问题的工作室课程，(4)直接与利益攸关方合作的暑期实习，以及(5)以结构化决策方法为重点的一系列讲习班。受训者将获得定量、定性、分析和协作技能；将学习在时空尺度上推断气候对自然、人类和已建环境系统的影响的类型和程度；并将了解相关利益攸关方的可操作科学需求。教师将与学员合作，将尖端研究纳入他们的论文中。研究将探讨如何优化社区对气候灾害事件的准备、反应和恢复，这些事件在美国东南部很常见，研究结果可能会为其他面临类似风险的地理区域的方法提供参考。NSF研究培训计划(NRT)旨在鼓励STEM研究生教育培训的大胆、新的、潜在的变革性模式的开发和实施。该计划致力于通过创新的、基于证据的、与不断变化的劳动力和研究需求保持一致的综合实习生模式，在高度优先的跨学科或趋同研究领域对STEM研究生进行有效培训。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Climate-related natural hazards and disaster losses are escalating in the United States and are often billion-dollar events (e.g. hurricanes, severe storms, inland flooding, crop freezes, droughts and wildfires). This project is aimed at training the next generation of scientists and leaders who can help build resilient communities that are prepared for, can effectively respond to, and can quickly recover from damaging hazard events. To better understand the complexities of resilience planning and improve predictability, methodological advancements that integrate multiple layers of information are critically needed. Specifically, progress requires a better understanding of the factors that impact resilience in natural, social, and built environmental systems; how these systems interact; and the effectiveness of specific resilience-based measures and communication strategies. In the absence of such advancements, disparities in the resilience of communities will persist, and decision-making efforts to reduce climate-related hazard impacts may be misguided. This National Science Foundation Research Traineeship (NRT) award to Auburn University will prepare a future workforce that will build climate-related disaster resilience in the southeastern United States by training individuals at the MS and PhD levels. Students will conduct research within an integrated and multidisciplinary framework with the aim to better understand, predict, and communicate the resilience of natural, social and built environmental systems. The project anticipates training thirty-six (36) MS and PhD students, including eighteen (18) funded trainees, across earth systems science, engineering, geosciences, forestry and wildlife sciences, climate science, data science, agriculture, and social science disciplines.The goal of this NRT project is to address interdisciplinary research questions concerning resilience to climate-related natural hazards and disasters, while training the next generation of scientists and engineers to recognize the data-driven decision-making needs of stakeholders and to effectively communicate scientific information to stakeholder and public audiences. The project will employ a transformative workshop-studio-internship training approach. Two-way exchanges and direct interactions between stakeholders and trainees will occur, exposing trainees to real-world problems and possible career pathways. In addition to working on directed thesis research, trainees will take: (1) a course on resilience and social vulnerability, (2) a course on science communication, (3) a studio course that brings trainees and stakeholders together to address real-world problems, (4) a summer internship working directly with stakeholders, and (5) a series of workshops focused on structured decision-making approaches. Trainees will acquire quantitative, qualitative, analytical, and collaborative skillsets; will learn to infer the types and magnitudes of climate effects on natural, human and built environmental systems across spatio-temporal scales; and will understand the actionable science needs of relevant stakeholders. Faculty will work with trainees to incorporate cutting-edge research into their theses. Research will examine how to optimize community preparation, response, and recovery from climate-hazard events that are common in the southeastern United States with results potentially informing approaches in other geographic regions with similar risks.The NSF Research Traineeship (NRT) Program is designed to encourage the development and implementation of bold, new potentially transformative models for STEM graduate education training. The program is dedicated to effective training of STEM graduate students in high priority interdisciplinary or convergent research areas through comprehensive traineeship models that are innovative, evidence-based, and aligned with changing workforce and research needs.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.