NAAHDRI Research Accelerator Events
One of NAAHDRI’s core mission areas is to propel the careers of its members forward. To realize this objective, the NAAHDRI Research Committee is inaugurating a sequence of Research Accelerator Events that feature senior NAAHDRI members and other respected professionals who will share their career development experiences. These events are held via Zoom and will take place quarterly. During each event, a distinguished panel will convene to foster discussions on topics related to career growth and the research enterprise. NAAHDRI members as well as students, early and mid-career researchers, and professionals at any career stage are welcome to join in the conversations.
Event Information
Research Approaches
June 7, 2024
12:00-1:00 p.m. MDT
Meeting ID: 974 3499 6102
Passcode: 647557
Presentations:
An Overview of Regional Risk and Resilience Analysis
Paolo Gardoni, Alfredo H. Ang Family Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Civil structures and infrastructure provide vital services that support and enable societal functions. Therefore, ensuring their reliability and prompt recovery is critical for the public’s well-being and economic prosperity. However, the consequences of past disasters around the world have raised concerns about the vulnerability of civil structures and infrastructure and have highlighted the significance of risk mitigation and management. The maintenance, repair, or replacement of existing vulnerable, deficient, and deteriorating structures and infrastructure represents a significant investment. To wisely invest the limited funding, it is crucial to use advanced risk analysis tools in the decision-making process. This presentation discusses a general formulation for regional risk and resilience analysis. The presentation explains how to conduct a regional risk and resilience analysis considering multiple hazards and different infrastructure, as well as the effects of deterioration and interdependencies among infrastructure. The presentation also shows how the physical damage to structures and infrastructure can be cascaded to predict the likelihood and duration of business interruption. The presentation concludes with an example of regional risk and resilience analysis considering a hypothetical earthquake in the New Madrid seismic zone.
Reason and Rigor in Qualitative Research
Liesel Ritchie, Professor of Sociology at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Qualitative methods play an integral role in social science research. Using a variety of approaches—ranging from in-depth interviews to focus groups and content analysis to ethnography—qualitative research offers valuable insights into social phenomena. Depending on the research question(s), scholars can learn much about things that aren’t easily or necessarily quantifiable. Qualitative research has the potential to add depth and breadth to our understanding of the world around us. Despite the rigor of well-designed qualitative studies, the methods employed and subsequent findings are often questioned and even dismissed by some scholars, practitioners, and decision-makers. This presentation will discuss strengths and limitations of qualitative research. It will also seek to dispel misconceptions about this longstanding line of social science inquiry.
Moderator: John W. van de Lindt, Harold H. Short Endowed Chair Professor at Colorado State University
Questions about this event can be sent to NAAHDRI Chair of the Board of Directors, Professor Grace Yan, at: yang@mst.edu.
Writing Large Research Proposals: The Insider Scoop
Dec 8, 2023
12:00-1:00 p.m. MST
Meeting ID: 959 0876 7803
Passcode: 952253
This webinar focuses on writing large research proposals featuring a panel by professors, Rick Luettick, Pallab Mozumder, and Maria Koliou. Writing a large research proposal on the order of millions of dollars to even tens of millions of dollars requires the lead principal investigator to become a manager in addition to working on technical content. For some, this transition can be natural having managed students, interacted with colleagues, while writing proposals, or perhaps even having been part of a larger proposal effort. In this webinar, the panelists will describe their experiences, moving from individual investigator proposals with one to several people – and on to these larger efforts that require systematic coordination to be successful. Of course, it’s different for each researcher and so the NAAHDRI research committee organizers hope that by convening a panel of three successful experts their collective experiences will provide insight and motivation for each of you. Please join us for this insightful 60 minute webinar and we look forward to hosting you in December.
Moderator:
John van de Lindt, Harold H. Short Endowed Chair Professor of Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Colorado State University
Panelists:
Maria Koliou, Associate Professor at the Zachry Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Texas A&M University
Rick Luettick, Alumni Distinguished Professor of Marine Sciences and Environmental Sciences and Engineering at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Pallab Mozumder, Professor in the Department of Earth & Environment and the Department of Economics at Florida International University
Questions about this event can be sent to NAAHDRI Chair of the Board of Directors, Professor Grace Yan, at: yang@mst.edu.
Becoming an Organizational Leader: What It’s Like to Direct a Hazards and Disaster Research Center
Friday, September 22, 2023
12:00-1:00 p.m. MDT
If you think you might someday like to launch or lead an academic hazards or disaster research center, please watch this video to learn from faculty members who already have. This online forum introduced students and mid- or early-career professionals to the particulars of creating, maintaining, and growing a leading hazards and disaster research institution. Speakers shared their own career trajectories and answered questions about the highs and lows of leading an organization.
This event was sponsored by the Research and Justice, Equity, and Future Leadership Committees of the North American Alliance of Hazards and Disaster Research Institutes (NAAHDRI). NAAHDRI is interested in ensuring that leaders in the field cultivate a diverse next generation of professionals who are ready to take the reins and move the field forward. As such, students, academics at any career stage, and emergency management professionals were invited to join the conversation.
Moderator:
Tricia Wachtendorf, Professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice and Director of the Disaster Research Center, University of Delaware
Panelists:
Susan L. Cutter, Carolina Distinguished Professor of Geography and Director of the Hazards Vulnerability & Resilience Institute, University of South Carolina
Michelle Annette Meyer, Associate Professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning and Director of the Hazard Reduction & Recovery Center, Texas A&M University
Fernando Rivera, Professor of Sociology and Director of the Puerto Rico Research Hub, University of Central Florida
Delong Zuo, Professor of Structural/Wind Engineering and Technical Director of Wind Engineering, National Wind Institute, Texas Tech University
Questions about this event can be sent to NAAHDRI Chair of the Board of Directors, Professor Grace Yan, at: yang@mst.edu.