Enabling the Next Generation of Hazards and Disasters Researchers

North Carolina State University, Raleigh NC

Investigators

Abstract

This education and training initiative is a comprehensive, creative program of mentoring for recently appointed junior faculty at research universities with an interest in natural hazards and disasters. We seek to (1) identify and recruit another cohort of well-trained social scientists and engineers with an appreciation for the social aspects of hazards, who will undertake research about societal aspects of extreme events; (2) engage this cohort of researchers in discussions about interdisciplinary social science scholarship as it relates to research about extreme events; (3) enable this cohort of researchers to undertake sustained research on these topics by providing tutorials on proposal development and research dissemination, particularly in scholarly outlets; and (4) foster an expanded network of social scientists undertaking research on extreme events. These goals will be accomplished through a mentoring program involving scholars from a broad range of disciplines as mentors. The project includes two workshops, one-on-one mentoring, and research and writing activities. A final evaluation report will assess the program's effectiveness. This project will attract junior faculty to a field of student in which a number of senior researchers are expected to retire soon. A major goal of the project is to identify and recruit scholars from underrepresented groups to this field of research.