REU Site: Hazards and Risks of Climate Change in the Pacific Northwest

与气候变化相关的危害和风险是太平洋西北地区迫切关注的问题。评估与气候相关的危害相关的风险需要一种跨学科的方法，探索危害本身的性质；该地区社区的经济、社会和政治脆弱性；以及能够接触到不同受众的沟通策略。该项目的主要目标是向学生介绍并让他们参与与他们的生活和生计相关的跨学科危害研究，并在他们的大学生涯早期这样做。该项目每年将从太平洋西北地区的社区学院、部落学院和大学招募最多10名学生到中央华盛顿大学进行多学科的研究，包括水文学、大气科学、社会学、地理学、地质学和纪录片制作。学生们还将共同完成一项重大挑战项目，调查他们所在社区对气候变化的感知风险，整合他们的个人研究项目，并开发资源，将气候变化风险反馈给他们自己的社区。他们将在CWU主办的区域会议上介绍他们的工作成果。该项目的另一个目标是围绕跨学科气候危害和风险研究的理念建立一个社区，这个社区不仅可以促进我们对这些主题的理解，而且可以作为一个支持网络，为转校生，特别是那些来自两年制大学的转校生，在四年制大学环境中取得成功。地区社区学院的许多学生来自传统上在STEM学科中代表性不足的群体，他们的社区特别容易受到气候变化的影响。该项目将支持学生、其所在机构的教师、中央华盛顿大学的教师和学生以及周边社区之间的持续互动，强调研究在建立弹性方面的作用。

The hazards and risks associated with climate change are a pressing concern in the Pacific Northwest. Assessing risks associated with climate-related hazards requires an interdisciplinary approach that explores the nature of the hazard itself; the economic, social, and political vulnerabilities of the communities in the region; and communication strategies that reach a diverse audience. The primary goal of this project is to introduce students to and engage them in interdisciplinary hazards research that is relevant to their lives and livelihoods, and to do so early in their college careers. The project will bring up to 10 students per year from community colleges, tribal colleges, and universities throughout the Pacific Northwest to Central Washington University to conduct research spanning multiple disciplines, including hydrology, atmospheric science, sociology, geography, geology, and documentary film-making. Students will also work together on a grand challenge project to survey their communities about their perceived risks to climate change, integrate their individual research projects, and develop resources for communicating about climate change risks back to their own communities. They will present the results of their work at a regional conference hosted at CWU.An additional goal of this project is to develop a community around the idea of interdisciplinary climate hazards and risks research, one that can not only advance our understanding of these topics, but one that serves as a support network for transfer students, especially those from two-year colleges, to succeed in the four-year college environment. Many students at regional community colleges are from groups traditionally underrepresented in the STEM disciplines, and their communities are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. This project will support ongoing interactions between students, faculty at their home institution, faculty and students at Central Washington University, and the surrounding communities, emphasizing the role of research in building resiliency.