In the heart of Washington, D.C., Cheryl Ann Blain, a researcher at the Naval Research Laboratory’s Remote Sensing Division, is steering a monumental effort to fortify our nation’s infrastructure against nature’s fury. Blain, the lead author of a recent study published in Frontiers in Built Environment, is at the helm of the Network Coordination Office (NCO) for the Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure (NHERI). This isn’t just about weathering storms; it’s about revolutionizing how we build, adapt, and innovate in the face of natural disasters.
Imagine a world where hurricanes, earthquakes, and tsunamis don’t spell catastrophe but challenge us to engineer smarter, more resilient structures. That’s the vision driving NHERI, a sprawling, 12-component network funded by the National Science Foundation. At its core, the NCO is the nerve center, coordinating a diverse array of facilities, from experimental labs to cyberinfrastructure hubs, all focused on mitigating damage and boosting resilience.
Blain’s work is about more than just coordinating schedules and hosting summits. It’s about creating a pipeline that nurtures engineering talent from grade school to early career faculty. “We’re not just building structures; we’re building a community,” Blain emphasizes. This community is crucial for the energy sector, where infrastructure resilience is paramount. Think about it: a hurricane-resistant power grid, earthquake-proof pipelines, or tsunami-defying offshore platforms. These aren’t pipe dreams; they’re the high-impact, high-reward research goals outlined in the NHERI Science Plan, led by Blain’s team.
The NCO’s initiatives are already making waves. They’ve forged five international partnerships, developed a central scheduling tool, and established a means for external evaluation. But perhaps most importantly, they’re amplifying NHERI’s impact through education and outreach. Blain’s team is engaging with researchers one-on-one, promoting technology transfer, and using centralized communication activities like newsletters, podcasts, and social media to unite the natural hazards research community.
So, what does this mean for the future? Picture this: a world where natural disasters don’t just test our mettle but also drive our innovation. Where every storm, quake, or surge is an opportunity to learn, adapt, and build back better. That’s the future Blain and her team at the NCO are working towards. And with their template for managing large, distributed research networks, it’s a future that’s within our reach.
As Blain puts it, “We’re not just coordinating a network; we’re coordinating a revolution in how we approach natural hazards.” And with the energy sector at the forefront of this revolution, the future looks bright—even in the face of nature’s darkest storms. The research, published in Frontiers in Built Environment, which translates to Frontiers in the Built Environment, is a beacon of hope and innovation, guiding us towards a more resilient, sustainable future.