It’s not what you know but who you know, as the old saying goes—but for budding researchers in the ever-expanding field of hazards and disasters, it’s often both. Luckily, a long-standing mentorship program is available to help new professionals build strong foundations in their careers.
The National Science Foundation-funded Enabling the Next Generation of Hazards Researchers program—or the Enabling Program for short—pairs new researchers with leaders in the field to help expand their skills, build interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary collaboration, and better understand the complex interactions the social, natural, and built environments in disaster.
The program is currently accepting applications for its fifth cohort. The deadline for submissions is October 18, 2019.
The 20 fellows accepted to the program will form a community of scholars who support each other along with assistance from 10 leading hazards and disasters scholars, investigators, and program officers. They will attend two in-person mentoring workshops including one in Puerto Rico, participate in the Natural Hazards Research and Applications Workshop in Colorado and in many other learning activities, and receive insights about how they can make broader contributions to the hazards and disasters field.
“The Enabling the Next Generation of Hazard and Disaster Researchers fellowship made a clear linkage between myself and a legacy of disaster scholarship,” said Michelle Meyer, a member of the most recent cohort of fellows who was recently named director of the Texas A&M Hazards Reduction & Recovery Center. “The connection with numerous leaders in the field provided through the in-person workshops and the general network of scholars was invaluable.”
The program also provides guidance on peer-reviewed publishing and how to navigate the often-complex process of developing and applying for grant funding. Meyer and her fellow cohort member Betty Lai, a Buehler Sesquicentennial Assistant Professor at Boston College, both agreed that the grant learning piece of the program gave their careers a huge boost.
“Through the Enabling program, I learned the full grant writing process—from how to develop an idea, the components of a proposal, how to create collaborations, how to submit, and how grants are reviewed,” Lai said. “I also had the opportunity to receive feedback on my proposal from senior colleagues. The feedback helped me understand how to better communicate my ideas to interdisciplinary audiences.”
This is the fifth round of the Enabling Program. Thomas Cova, Sara Grineski, and Timothy Collins at the University of Utah and Terri Norton at Bucknell University are the project principal investigators.
The Natural Hazards Center is proud to help elevate the program through our website and broad network of natural hazards and disaster researchers and professionals. Those interested in applying can visit our website to learn more about eligibility requirements, see a list of frequently asked questions, and submit an application.
For questions about the current program, please email Tom Cova at cova@geog.utah.edu.