University of Kansas Office of Research’s Post

🌟 Exciting News! 🌟 We are thrilled to share that we’ve been awarded an #NSF grant to explore the critical but little-understood local and dynamic mechanisms that contribute to severe injuries during earthquakes. This project aims to create transformative solutions to reduce seismic risks and protect communities. Together with Kimberley Shoaf from University of Utah, I’ll be co-leading the project, “Collaborative Research: Enhancing Earthquake Casualty Predictions: A Novel Modeling Framework Informed by Epidemiology and Local Human-Building Dynamics”. 🔬 Our work combines civil engineering and disaster medicine to pioneer next-generation models for predicting earthquake casualties with improved accuracy and granularity. By analyzing local infrastructure damage patterns, refined injury taxonomies, and human behavior, we’ll study the effectiveness of interventions—both hard (like structural and non-structural retrofits) and soft (such as earthquake early warning systems)—to better safeguard people in vulnerable structures like non-ductile concrete buildings. 💡 The outcomes will be crucial for designing more effective strategies to reduce injuries, particularly in communities in the Bay Area and beyond. A huge thank you to the National Science Foundation (NSF), our reviewers, and the incredible collaborators for supporting this work! Learn more here: [https://lnkd.in/exPGHY-S] UC Berkeley College of Engineering UC Berkeley Civil & Environmental Engineering (CEE) University of Utah School of Medicine University of Utah Division of Public Health #earthquake #seismicrisk #NSFfunded #engineering #publichealth #communitysafety

Climate change is one of the most important topics we teach our pupils about. But there is a tension at the heart of our ethical responsibilities as teachers regarding this topic: we have an ethical imperative to teach our pupils about the urgency and scale of the threats we face. But we also have, in a context of growing ecoanxiety, an ethical responsibility towards the mental health of our young people. So how do we teach the urgency whilst not tipping our pupils into despair? We do so by teaching for agency. I've been exploring how to address this in a large GIS citizen science project involving 10 schools in Craigavon Area Learning Community (CALC). Hundreds of young geographers are using GIS to collect data about tree coverage and health in the streets where they live (trees can play a vital role in moderating urban heat island temperatures). This huge data set will then be analysed by our pupils and we want them to be able to present it to the local council, to amplify the young people's voices and enable them to be the citizens of today, not just tomorrow. By giving our pupils agency in this way, we are enabling them to see that, though the challenges are huge, there are steps we can - and must - take. Find out more about this exciting programme in this promo video. https://lnkd.in/edDX7DNZ

📢🌍 Excited to share my latest publication 📚"Deciphering spatial-temporal dynamics of flood exposure in the United States" is now published in Sustainable Cities and Society journal (Cite Score: 22; Impact Factor: 11.7). 🎉💡 In this paper, we evaluated county-wide #flood_exposure 🌊 in the United States and unraveled its #spatial_temporal dynamics from 2001 to 2019. At present, comprehensive, long-term spatial-temporal flood exposure research in the United States is #lacking. In this study, we identified three #research_gaps and tried to answer three research questions via #hypothesis testing. I had the privilege to #lead the paper under the guidance and supervision of my #PhD advisor, Dr. Lei Zou whose invaluable mentorship and support were instrumental throughout the process. A heartfelt appreciation goes out to Dr. Robert Rohli, Dr. Yi Qiang, and Dr. Heng Cai for their invaluable contributions to revising and enhancing the final version of the manuscript. I extend my sincere appreciation to my co-authors, colleagues #Mingzheng_Yang, Debayan Mandal, and #GEAR_Lab team. The paper can be accessed at the following link: https://lnkd.in/ghmGJ4MZ #FloodExposure #UrbanDevelopment #GIScience #SpatialAnalysis #UnitedStates

👏 Let's Join Us 🙋♀️ Our Center for Hydrologic Innovations research group is at the American Geophysical Union ( https://lnkd.in/eSkjURX8) December 9 –13, Washington, D.C. (#AGU24) We are open to your questions. Please find the highlights of our innovative contributions in #AGU sessions and discover how the Center for Hydrologic Innovations research group is turning today’s challenges into tomorrow’s solutions. Our Research Group Contribution: December 9 #Detection of Intermittent Snow Cover Dynamics Using Transfer Learning and PlanetScope Imagery (8:50 AM | Poster ID: 1521388 | C11B) #Uncertainty in Future Hydrology of the Colorado River Basin Under CMIP5 and CMIP6 (1:40–5:30 PM | Poster ID: 1559314 | H13O) December 10 #Controls of Large-Scale Meteorological Patterns on Annual Maximum Streamflow Across the United States (8:30 AM–12:20 PM | Poster ID: 1524499 | H21S) #Quantifying Vegetation Regrowth in Treated Ponderosa Pine Forests for Input to Distributed Hydrologic Models (1:40–5:30 PM | Poster ID: 1571808 | H23B) December 11 #The 2023 Diurnal Compounding Hot Drought Over Southwestern North America (9:00–9:15 AM | Poster ID: 1596809 | GC31D) December 12 #Differential Effects of the Colorado River Drought Declaration on Agricultural Districts of Central Arizona (8:30 AM–12:20 PM | Poster ID: 1599886 | H41U) #Unraveling the Role of Soil Moisture Memory in Snowmelt Runoff Generation During the Colorado River Basin Drought (11:20–11:30 AM | Poster ID: 1598901 | H42A) #Improving the Understanding of Land-Atmosphere Energy and Matter Exchanges in Hot Urban Systems (1:40–5:30 PM | Poster ID: 1644892 | H43P) December 13 #Monitoring Forest Thinning Using Deep Learning Based on NAIP and PlanetScope Imagery (8:30 AM–12:20 PM | Poster ID: 1634423 | GC51N) #Enhancing Accessibility in Distributed Hydrologic Modeling: Introducing pytRIBS, a Python Framework for the TIN-based Real-time Integrated Basin Simulator (tRIBS) (11:32 AM | Poster ID: 1689813 | H22C) #Seeing the Forest for the Trees: Integrating Individual Trees in a Distributed Hydrologic Model to Evaluate Forest Thinning Impact on Water Resources (4:12 PM | Poster ID: 1684952 | H54H) #Crop Type Identification Using High-Resolution Planet Imagery Data (Poster ID: 1629941) ⚡ E-Lightning Presentation: Don’t miss our groundbreaking research on forest thinning and its critical impact on water systems! #AGU24 hosts 25,000+ scientists from over 100 countries, and we're thrilled to contribute to this global stage with 12 #innovative, real-world solutions addressing some of today’s most pressing challenges in climate science, water management, and environmental sustainability. #AGU24! Wren Raming Zhaocheng Wang Swastik Ghimire, EIT Shraddha Sharma Xinyu Chen Somnath Mondal Razieh Barzin, Nidia Rojas Robles, Laura Gallegos 💡 Don’t miss out! See you! #AGU24 #ClimateScience #Innovation #Hydrology #AI #Sustainability #Collaboration #FutureOfScience #CenterForHydrologicInnovations

Latest publication in Journal of Hydrometeorology: https://lnkd.in/gjb9sv4S Majority of flash flood research is concentrated on predicting discharge and timing of floods. But the receding period of floods is vital for disaster relief, community recovery, public health etc and attracts little attention in comparison. Generally, we use Recession curves for this, but they can be difficult to use from an operational point of view. Here, we propose a new metric called 'Recoveriness', based on the physical definition of floods by an operational agency. And mapped it across the country using machine learning. Because the metric is based on operational definitions of floods and flash floods, it has the potential for wide usage for both climatology and events. Led by Principal Project Scientist of HydroSense Lab: Anil Kumar. In collaboration with Prof. Pierre-Emmanuel Kirstetter.

Exploring Flood Recovery Predictability 🌍 Did you know that flood recovery - a critical phase post-disaster - remains underexplored in flood research? Despite its significance for communities and infrastructure, only a handful of studies focus on predicting recovery outcomes. In our latest work, we dive deep into understanding the predictability of flood recovery, leveraging diverse hydro-climatic variables. This research could pave the way for smarter, data-driven strategies to enhance resilience and accelerate recovery after devastating flood events. Thank you Prof Manabendra Saharia and Prof Pierre-Emmanuel Kirstetter for the insightful discussions. #FloodRecovery #ClimateResilience #Hydrology #DataScience #DisasterManagement #AIForGood #EnvironmentalScience #Sustainability #PolicyMaking

Achieving top grades in GCSE Geography requires students demonstrating a strong understanding of wider geographical knowledge. 🌍 Every Wednesday, I’ll share a news story to help students deepen this critical skill. Before discussing it, why not engage your child with some thought-provoking questions to boost their subject oracy? For instance: What natural and human factors contribute to flooding? What social, economic, and environmental impacts might follow? What should immediate responses look like? Building critical thinking today for success tomorrow! Read the news article here https://lnkd.in/gb64ZYz9 #GeographySkills

🔥✨ Exciting News! 🔬🌲 The Joint Fire Science Program just announced its latest Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) announcements for next year! Read the press release here: https://lnkd.in/gDXb3hFA. Federal, state, tribal, and local governments, along with academic institutions, NGOs, and private groups, are invited to compete for nearly $11 million in wildland fire science research and science exchange initiatives. The Joint Fire Science Program plays a crucial role in funding scientific studies that help manage wildland fire, fuel, and fire-impacted ecosystems. This funding aims to address the evolving and long term needs of managers, practitioners, and policymakers from local to national levels. ℹ️ This year, proposals are being solicited in three key areas: 🔹 Primary Research (topics include accelerating science to action, cultural burning, invasive plants and social equity) 🔹 Graduate Research Innovation 🔹 Regional Fire Science Exchange For detailed proposal guidelines and submission information, visit the "Funding" tab at https://lnkd.in/gV5VvBzz. Proposals are due by September 19, 2024. Let's collaborate to advance our understanding of wildland fires and support sound decisions on the ground! 🌍🔥 #firescience #researchfunding #ScienceExchange Photo caption: Past JFSP funded project. Forest Service researchers study post-fire monitoring plots in the Mendocino National Forest. Photo by Morris C. Johnson, USFS.