Collaborative Research: IRES: Global Flood Resilience Program - Convergent research experiences to increase resilience in flood-prone communities

About This Grant

Flooding is among the costliest natural hazards in the United States (U.S.) and around the world. Addressing flood risk and the damage it causes requires an integrated investigation across different disciplines, sectors, and international boundaries. The International Research Experiences for Students (IRES) Global Flood Resilience Program (GFRP) between the U.S. and South Korea serves the critical need for comprehensive research education programs. The GFRP Program is designed to develop U.S. students as researchers and practitioners to address complex flood-related problems both in the U.S. and globally. It also trains the next generation of problem solvers to have a comprehensive set of visions and tools to succeed. Each year, 10 U.S. students participate in a six-week international research experience: six students travel to Korea, while four participate in Texas, engaging with visiting Korean students from Pusan National University (PNU). The research products and collaboration model established by the PI team through successful international research and education projects with the Netherlands are leveraged and expanded to provide students with a wide range of international experiences. Key U.S. partners include Texas A&M Galveston (TAMUG: Yoonjeong Lee; Samuel Brody) and College Station (TAMU: Jens Figlus) campuses, and the Univ. of Puerto Rico Mayagūez (UPRM: Ismael Pagán Trinidad). Korean partners are Pusan National University (PNU) and the University of Seoul (UOS). Urban and coastal flooding issues in Korea and Texas are examined through problem- and place-based case studies using the flood resilience framework developed through a decade-long collaboration between the U.S. and the Netherlands. Specifically, locations in Seoul/Busan in Korea and Houston/Galveston in Texas act as focal points to integrate expertise in engineering (TAMU/UPRM), planning (TAMUG/PNU), and public policy (TAMUG/UOS) that guide student research. Transdisciplinary place-based analyses address the following overarching research questions: 1) What are the differences in the driving factors of flooding and its associated damage between the two countries? 2) Which flood mitigation measures are more suitable for each study area and why? Students conduct research covering both surge-based and precipitation-driven flood problems. The project assesses the effectiveness and applicability of the integrative flood resilience framework in a global context, leading to a better understanding of when and where to implement specific strategies to mitigate adverse flood impacts. The participants leverage U.S. and Korean data, methods, and facilities related to flood management to generate new knowledge on global flood resilience. The program prepares the next generation of U.S. engineers, scientists, and policymakers in academia and practice to tackle the societal problem of flooding innovatively on a global scale. Furthermore, the program generates data on specific educational methods to improve learning outcomes in problem- and place-based research settings, as well as on how to enhance international experiences for students. These findings contribute to improving future international research programs and are incorporated into teaching strategies across all partner institutions. Emphasis is placed on recruiting students from all U.S. collaborating institutions, with a focus on providing them opportunities to collaborate with international students and researchers through an innovative program design. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.