3:30 PM – 4:45 PM | Room 62 (Lower level)

Integrated, Agent-Based Modeling to Foster Interdisciplinary Collaboration in Disaster Research

Seth Guikema and Allison Reilly
University of Michigan

Disaster research is inherently interdisciplinary, often spanning engineering, economics, policy, behavioral science, epidemiology, urban and regional planning, and climate science, among other disciplines. This talk summarizes a novel model-driven approach to fostering and enhancing interdisciplinary collaboration and cooperation in the domain of disaster research. Specifically, we present the integrated hazard impact and resilience model (IHIRM) that has been developed for studying how repeated hurricanes influence the evolution of vulnerability, resilience, and sustainability of a region over time and discuss how it has been used to foster interdisciplinary research.

"What Does Usable Climate Change Impacts Modeling Look Like?" Developing Metrics to Assess Interdisciplinary Environmental Modeling Efforts

Elizabeth Allen
Washington State University

Metrics are needed for evaluating the usability of climate science information products and assessing boundary-spanning capabilities of individuals and organizations. This research compares outcomes and participants’ perceptions in three interdisciplinary environmental modeling projects in the Northwestern US. Surveys and interviews were conducted with researchers and stakeholders over the duration of the projects to understand diverse attitudes about interdisciplinary processes and stakeholder engagement efforts, information needs for environmental management, and the relevance of specific climate change impact model products for a range of natural resource management decision-makers. We suggest effective model development approaches and present lessons learned.

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