Join Sarah Whitaker who is a Post Doctoral Research Fellow from the Department of Anthropology. She will present a seminar in the Micron Center for Material Research (MCMR), room 105 on February 3 from 3 pm – 4 pm.
Title: Preparing interconnected civil and military infrastructure for an uncertain climate future
Abstract: Increasingly frequent and intense flooding events are placing stress on energy, water, and transport infrastructure. In this presentation, I will explore how decision-makers in Detroit, MI, and Killeen, TX, are increasing the resilience of civil and military infrastructure to flooding. I will focus on two military installations and the surrounding civil infrastructure organizations with which these installations cooperate. I will outline:
1. individual and institutional perceptions of flood risk and uncertainty;
2. the key trade-offs, facilitators, and barriers facing decision-makers as they seek to increase the resilience of military and civil infrastructure to flooding; and
3. the social and cultural factors that affect both how decisions are made and the nature of those decisions.
The research I will present is being conducted as part of a multidisciplinary project on flood risk, decision-making, and uncertainty. The anthropology team’s role in the project is to analyze the human dimensions of decision-making under conditions of uncertainty. I will place my results in conversation with research being conducted by other project teams on future climate scenarios and on flood formation and propagation in urban and rural environments.
Affiliation: Boise State University-Post Doctoral Research Fellow, Anthropology Dept.
Zoom Link: Join Zoom Meeting
https://boisestate.zoom.us/j/2413773380