Enabling the Next Generation of Hazards and Disasters Researchers

The objective of this project is to support a much-needed effort on developing scholars across various disciplines in the field of hazards, disasters, and risk. In the United States, financial and social costs of natural disasters are rising dramatically. The federal government has invested substantial funding and resources to promote interdisciplinary research. This project is to continue one such effort, “Enabling the Next Generation of Hazards and Disasters Researchers” (the Enabling Program). The National Science Foundation (NSF) funded five rounds of the Enabling Program, which has produced impressive cohorts of scholars that have made significant positive impacts across numerous disciplines. Yet, the field of hazards, disasters, and risk consists of a limited number of researchers. As the fellows from the earlier rounds of the Enabling Program retire, there is an urgent need to continue to develop and train a new generation of scholars. The aim of this project is to innovate a sixth round of the Enabling Program through the following actions: (1) identify and recruit early career fellows and experienced academic mentors; (2) develop a comprehensive mentoring and training program; (3) ensure the legacy and continuity of the Enabling Program for future generations of scholars. The “communities of practice” (CoP) mentoring model provides a degree of flexibility and allows participants to adopt the role of a mentee in one aspect of disaster research and practice and mentor in another. First, program participation enhances research and teaching abilities, skillsets, and expertise of early career fellows. Second, the project broadens the selection criteria to include postdoctoral scholars and non-tenure-track research scholars, and scholars from the physical sciences, engineering, and social sciences. Third, a third-party evaluator publishes the lessons learned from the current and prior rounds of the Enabling Program. Fourth, the investigators disseminate the results program through journal article publications and at conferences and meetings, such as the Annual Natural Hazards Research and Applications Workshop. Finally, the project emphasizes fellows’ teaching, mentorship, and research, and creates a repository for sharing teaching and research case studies and datasets. 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.