Education
Education for Improving Resilience of Coastal Infrastructure
Impacting the Resilience Community from Lessons Learned in Multihazards
Summary
The UPRM Coastal Resilience Center (UPRM-CRC), is a DHS university-led Center of Excellence Partner. It provides formal and professional education to stakeholders in the field of resilience of coastal infrastructure (RCI). The project has served a significant diverse audience since its beginning. A diverse range of activities is offered ranging from technology transfer and dissemination of resilience knowledge through “Conservatories”, workshops, lectures, webinars, trainings, formal curricular courses, and course modules, capstone courses, partnerships, participation in organization’s boards, publications, presentations, advise, internships, undergraduate and graduate research and projects, and other students’ activities. The engagement of faculty from the CRC has been notable and sustained.
The proposed work for Year 10 will strengthen efforts for partnering and institutionalization of the work done during previous 9 years of the UPRM CRC project by focusing on outreaching and partnering with public and private agencies and institutions (e.g., FEMA, USGS, NOAA, high schools and universities), to provide awareness, capacity building, education, and dissemination in multi-hazard resilience in community infrastructure. Lectures, orientations, meetings, conferences, and experiential learning activities will be provided on local and accessible multi-hazard sites. Students and professionals will continue to be advised and oriented on academic careers and work opportunities in the multi-hazard field as a vehicle to maintain a pipeline to attract a new generation of workforce in the homeland security enterprise. A conference on Impacting the Resilience Community from Lessons Learned in Multihazards will be coordinated.
Investigator
University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez
Other Research Participants/Partners
- Carla López del Puerto, Co-PI; Raúl Zapata-López, Co-PI
- UPRM (Dr. Ali Saffar, Professor- Resilient Design, Civil Engineering.; Dr. Carlos Rodríguez, Biology Department, UPRM, EPA Mold/Flood Proofing Project; Dr. Alberto Figueroa, Civil Engineering., Coastal Research and Educational Actions for Transportation, UTC)
- US Army Corps of Engineers, Engineer Research and Development Center (Dr. Norberto Nadal-CHL, Adjunct Professor to the CRC, Coastal and Hydraulic Laboratory; Dr. Pat Deliman and Dr. Carlos Ruiz, Environmental Lab, US Army CE ERDC)
- High Schools (Teachers, Students, Clubs)
- FEMA (National Preparedness Division of FEMA Region 2; Xaymara Diaz Rosado, NPD- Capacity Building & Individual/Community Resilience Specialist; and Mark H. Strohoefer, FEMA Region 2, Higher-Ed Program Coordinator)
- NGO and Professional organization (Ernesto Díaz, Tetratech and PRCCC; Dr. Ada Monzón, Eco-Exploratorium; Local non-for-profit organizations; others)
- USGS (Michelle M. Irizarry-Ortiz, P.E., CC-P, Hydrologist, USGS Caribbean-Florida Water Science Center, Orlando, FL 32826; Francisco Pena Guerra, PhD, Galt Group, Inc., Co-chair, International Committee ASFPM)
- CRC Partners (researchers and members of the CRC consortium). Establishing partnerships will continue with companies who are willing to employ students and graduates. They will be suitable to orient, advise, and help students in their path from students’ life to professional practice.
