Whether it鈥檚 solving the world鈥檚 biggest problems or investigating the potential of novel discoveries, researchers at UCF are on the edge of scientific breakthroughs that aim to make an impact. Through the , student and faculty researchers condense their complex studies into bite-sized summaries so you can know how and why Knights plan to improve our world.
Name:聽Christopher Emrich
笔辞蝉颈迟颈辞苍(蝉):听Boardman Endowed Professor of Environmental Science and Public Administration and聽founding member 色花堂鈥檚 National Center for Integrated Coastal Research
Why are you interested in this research?
A main reason stems from my childhood in Florida 鈥� constantly being exposed to a variety of hazards and seeing how communities were impacted in different ways.聽Being able to study geography at a state university, the 聽University of South Florida, and then completing my Ph.D. at the University of South Carolina under the tutelage of leading experts in the field really helped solidify that I wanted to become an expert in both the hazards themselves and what we can do to prepare for, mitigate, respond to, and rebound from them.
My time with FEMA supporting long-term recovery in Florida pushed me further to understand what is keeping people from recovering as quickly as some might expect.聽Tying all of these strings together really helped me pinpoint that one of the problems is that people are thirsty for knowledge.聽Learning how to turn data into information in order to extract meaningful knowledge has positioned me into a place that has meaning and impact for those attempting to make real-time decisions about hazards and disasters 鈥� from before the storm through the recovery period.
Who inspires you to conduct your research?
Seeing the suffering that takes place following disaster 鈥� suffering that could be avoided if society (people, governments and organizations) took the right steps to prepare for disasters 鈥� is what really drives what I do.聽I think that we can make simple changes to the way we do business that could lead to really impactful positive outcomes for disaster survivors.
How does UCF empower you to do your research?
UCF has given me space and opportunity to explore the different aspects of hazard threat identification and vulnerability assessment.聽 Partnering with experts at DIST, and partners at FDOH, and the East Central Florida Regional Planning Council (among others) 聽we have been able to create open access websites like hazardaware.org,聽vulnerabilitymap.org,聽hazardrisk.org, and the Florida Public Health Risk Assessment tool (flphrat.com).聽 Each of these share the common goal of translating data into knowledge to support better emergency management decision making and preparedness planning.
What major grants and honors have you earned to support your research?
Since arriving at UCF, I have been awarded $10.8 million across 34 different extramurally supported grants and contracts.聽This includes grants of over $300K from funders including the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine鈥檚 Gulf Research Program, the State of Florida, The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Department of Energy.
Along the way, I have been awarded UCF鈥檚 Research Incentive Award twice (2021 and 2026) and UCF鈥檚 Luminary Award.
Why is this research important?
American political philosopher John Rawl鈥檚 once said, 鈥淭he natural distribution is neither just nor unjust; nor is it unjust that persons are born into society at some particular position.鈥�
I think it is a responsibility of each person, each organization, each governmental entity 聽鈥� and society as a whole 鈥� 聽to support those who need the most help among us.聽If we do not, how can we ever hope to move our society into a better position? My research supports making decisions that help those in most need, including those most at risk and with the least resources, to be better positioned for the next disaster.
