2021-2022 Annual Report

SCIPP's 2021-2022 Annual Report is here! Some highlights of the report include an overview of the Summer Academy, an introduction of the new Advisory Committee, and some essential research highlights. 

The report also includes significant new partnerships, meaningful engagements, societal impacts, and explores SCIPP's future endeavors. This is the final annual report of Phase III as SCIPP begins new research projects under the Phase IV grant.  

To read the annual report, click here. 

New Texas Simple Planning Tool
 

 

The Simple Planning Tool for Texas Climate Hazards is a compilation of relatively easy-to-use online interactive tools, maps, and graphs relevant to 17 hazards: 14 climate hazards and 3 non-climate hazards. Users can access and obtain locally relevant data from the provided links and instructions. It also provides information on data limitations and a state-of-the-science summary on projected future trends for each hazard. Finally, appendices include hazard definitions and descriptions, historical FEMA/presidential disaster declarations, climate change science and projection resources, and incentive and action programs for hazard risk reduction. While it may not answer every question one has about hazard climatologies and future trends, it aims to cut through the internet clutter and point to relatively simple data tools that can be used during planning processes and in plans.

An Assessment of the Extremes and Impacts of the February 2021 South-Central U.S. Arctic Outbreak, and how Climate Services Can Help

Temperature percentiles in February 2021, the month of the Arctic air outbreak. Credit: NOAA
 

Climate Justice Webinars
 

With the new Phase IV grant funding and subsequent upcoming research, SCIPP has added a new area of focus centered around "climate justice." Climate justice directly connects to previously-researched areas by SCIPP, including disaster resilience and climate change adaptation, in increasingly meaningful ways. Therefore, Simone Domingue, a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow for SCIPP, will host a series of webinars to raise awareness of climate justice's significance in future adaptation. The webinars will also offer actionable ideas for participants to bring back to their communities for proactive planning. 

The first virtual webinar on July 28th at 1 pm will bring individuals together from different sectors to identify disaster resilience and environmental justice funding and capacity-building resources for implementing community-led projects. There will also be an informational component where we will provide an overview of federal funding opportunities, ways to access news and updates regarding those funds, and list resources available for technical assistance or planning. Lastly, the webinar will feature a panel discussion from leaders in environmental justice, disaster resilience, and community development. 
 

To register for the virtual webinar, click here!

SCIPP's Director, Rachel Riley, was a panelist at the Natural Hazards Workshop Practitioners Meeting hosted by the National Hazard Mitigation Association (NHMA). The discussion, with other panelists Melanie Gall and Carol Friedland, was on the topic of "Frameworks for Collaboration: Communities and Public Universities." 

 

The overall theme for the Practitioners Meeting held on July 14th was "Engaging Low Capacity Communities with Practical and Equitable Risk Reduction and Resilience Solutions and Support." The NHMA gave communities a particular emphasis in the practitioners meeting due to their position to affect change in mitigation and resiliency on the local level. As a practitioner within the University of Oklahoma, Ms. Riley discussed the engagement methods SCIPP and the broader University use to connect with communities in the region. The full agenda for the Practitioners Meeting is available here. 

 

Simone Domingue, a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow for SCIPP, was also a panelist for the general Natural Hazards Workshop on the topic of "Who Gets a Say? Power, Authority, and Climate Policy." This session on July 12th centered around climate justice, methods to distribute climate funding, and how to formulate policies to maximize equitability. The agenda for the general Natural Hazards Workshop is available here. 

The Southern Climate Impacts Planning Program (SCIPP) Summer Academy 2022 welcomed undergraduate students from all over the organization’s four-state region of Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana for five days of climate adaptation lectures, activities, and community exploration. The all-expenses-paid trip welcomed a total of 18 students to the University of Oklahoma from June 6^th through the 10^th. Students were given the opportunity to hear from a wide array of experts in the climate adaptation field, including professors and business professionals.

The purpose of the Summer Academy was to introduce students to the vast opportunities that fall under the umbrella of climate adaptation. From climate models to Indigenous knowledge, the five days encompassed various branches of study that students could explore in their future careers and research endeavors.
SCIPP would like to thank all the undergraduates for their participation as they learned more about climate adaptation, and the many avenues of study within the field. We wish them best of luck as they continue to grow as students and young professionals!

For a full summary of the events, see our full news story.

Charles Simson is a Data Analyst for the Southern Climate Impacts Planning Program at Louisiana State University. He collaborates with his teammates at SCIPP and aids them in their research by working with climatic datasets to extract helpful information and creating related visualizations in the form of maps, plots, graphs, etc. Charles also builds tools and websites if the climate data needs to be accessible to a larger audience. Additionally, he maintains and fixes bugs in the existing websites and tools held by the organization. 

 

Charles did his Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Science at Panimalar Engineering College in India and Master of Science in Computer Science at Louisiana State University. He worked in an IT company as a programmer analyst for three years before coming to the United States to do his Master's and work as a research assistant for LSU's Geography department.

 

Charles grew up in Chennai, India, and was fascinated by many different  (not necessarily related) things like space, dinosaurs, animals, trains, and planes. Today, Charles loves watching and playing sports like cricket, tennis, and badminton in his spare time and also picked up online chess during the COVID lockdowns. In addition, he loves the outdoors and spending time in nature. 

The South-Central Climate Adaptation Science Center (SC-CASC) will host the "Regional Early Career Researcher Workshop" in Norman, Oklahoma from July 24-29. Graduate students, post-docs, and early career researchers will convene for five days to connect with others in the field and learn methods of engagement with the scientific community and public. The workshop will also feature immersive case studies for researchers to get hands-on experience. While the registration for this specific workshop is closed, we encourage you to check out the SC-CASC's website for details on more events: southcentralclimate.org!