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About Us

 

The mission of the Coastal Resilience Center of Excellence (CRC) is to conduct research and education to enhance the resilience of the nation’s people, infrastructure, economies and the natural environment to the impacts of coastal hazards such as floods and hurricanes, including the effects of future trends.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill leads the CRC, made possible through a five-year, $20 million grant from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate, Office of University Programs. The CRC is a consortium of universities, private companies, and government agencies focused on applied research, education and outreach addressing threats to coastal communities due to natural hazards.

The CRC expands on work conducted through the DHS Coastal Hazards Center of Excellence, which was co-led by UNC-Chapel Hill and Jackson State University from 2008 to 2015. Successful outcomes of research supported by the Coastal Hazards Center can be found at hazardscenter.unc.edu.

The CRC’s leadership team is comprised of Dr. Rick Luettich, Lead Principal Investigator; Tom Richardson, Executive Director (Jackson State University); Dr. Robert Whalin, Education and Workforce Development Director (Jackson State University);  Anna Schwab, Program Manager, and Matthew Bryant, Communications Manager.

Examples of expected outcomes include:

  • More accurate storm surge models and timely delivery of high-resolution surge predictions for approaching storms.
  • Assist the Federal Emergency Management Agency, states and local governments in developing better predictions of coastal hazards and their likely impacts, better pre-disaster plans and improved methods to integrate coastal hazards into community planning processes.
  • Improved ability to communicate risk to multiple audiences and encourage them to take action based on that understanding.
  • Educate the next generation of hazards researchers and practitioners, emphasizing the development of certificate and degree programs in minority-serving educational institutions.

For a list of CRC projects, click here.

 

This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security under Grant Award Number 2015-ST-061-ND0001-01. The views and conclusions contained herein are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as necessarily representing the official policies, either expressed or implied, of the U.S Department of Homeland Security.