An international research consortium led by Dr. Sam Brody, professor in the Department of Marine Science and director of the Center for Texas Beaches and Shores (CTBS) at Texas A&M University at Galveston (TAMU-Galveston) was awarded a $3.6 million Partnerships for International Research and Education (PIRE) grant by the National Science Foundation’s Office of International Science and Engineering. The team will conduct assessments, research and educational activities focused on the physical flood risk characteristics, land use change, the built environment and mitigation techniques to reduce risk and vulnerability to damaging coastal floods.
Scientists from Jackson State University, Rice University, University of Houston, Texas A&M University, Texas Sea Grant and Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands are part of the grant. This international consortium will allow U.S. researchers the ability to leverage Dutch data, methods and facilities associated with flood management.
Coastal floods continue to be the costliest and most disruptive natural hazard worldwide. Flood risk and associated losses can only be understood and eventually reduced through integrated investigation across multiple disciplines, settings and international boundaries, according the Texas A&M Today story. There is a critical need for a program that will lay a foundation for decision-making aimed at increasing the resiliency of coastal communities.
Read the complete Texas A&M Today story. The Texas Water Resources Institute’s txH2O will have an article about flooding and Brody’s research in its Fall 2015 issue. Subscribe here to get the electronic issue.