Laura Szczyrba

PhD Geological Sciences

Research Interests

Storm surge, erosion, coastal hydrodynamics, flood impacts and mitigation

About Laura

Laura Szczyrba (she/her) returned to graduate school after witnessing the devastating impacts of flooding during disaster response deployments to Louisiana and Puerto Rico. Using modeling and remote sensing techniques, Laura quantifies high-energy storm dynamics that threaten coastal populations. Beyond studying the hazard, Laura pursues a holistic understanding of community vulnerabilities and impacts, recognizing that these challenges require interdisciplinary solutions.

Laura received an M.S. in Geosciences and a certificate in Disaster Resilience and Risk Management from Virginia Tech. Her master카지노 게임 컬렉션™s research applied machine learning approaches to investigate the physical and social drivers of hurricane damage. Her prior degrees include a B.S. in Environmental Sciences and a B.A. in Spanish from the 카지노게임사이트 of Virginia. While at the 카지노게임사이트 of Virginia, her area of research was coral reef hydrodynamics. Following undergrad, she worked for a few years on the Coastal Team at Dewberry Engineers Inc., where she contributed to flood hazard mitigation and disaster response projects.

Awards

Fellowships and Grants

• Ontario Graduate Scholarship (2023-2024)
• National Science Foundation (NSF) International Research Experiences for Students (IRES) Fellow: Leveraging Dutch Expertise in Advanced Techniques for Water Management (2023)
• Queen's School of Graduate Studies Student Initiatives Award (2023)
• Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션™s 카지노게임사이트 Dean카지노 게임 컬렉션™s Donation Fund Award (2022)
• Queen's 카지노게임사이트 School of Graduate Studies Doctoral Award (2020-24)
• Queen's 카지노게임사이트 Graduate Award (2020-24)
• Student Challenge Research Grant, US Coastal Research Program (2019)
• Disaster Resilience and Risk Management Fellowship, NSF-NRT (2018)
• CURC Zero Waste Grant, College and 카지노게임사이트 Recycling Coalition (2015)
• From the Grounds up Grant, 카지노게임사이트 of Virginia Office for Sustainability (2015)
• Service Grant, 카지노게임사이트 of Virginia Parents Committee (2014)

Awards and Certifications

• First Place Oral Presentation Award - Advances in Earth Sciences Research Conference (2023)
• Honorable Mention, Virginia Tech Hazards Research Day (2019)
• Dewberry at Work Award - Perseverance, Dewberry Engineers Inc. (2018)
• Certified Floodplain Manager (CFM), Association of State Floodplain Managers (2017)
• Dewberry at Work Award - Contribution, Dewberry Engineers Inc. (2016)
• Wallace Poole Prize, 카지노게임사이트 of Virginia Environmental Sciences (2016)
• Intermediate Honors, 카지노게임사이트 of Virginia (2014)

Publications

Scientific Articles

• Szczyrba, L., Mulligan, R.P., Humberston, J., Bak, A.S., McNinch, J., Pufahl, P.K. (2023). Nearshore wave angles and directional variability during storm events. Coastal Engineering, 104372, ISSN 0378-3839.
• Szczyrba, L., Shawler, J., Rezaie, A. M., Constant, V. (2022). Exploring diverse perspectives of coastal resilience: The state of resilience model. Shore & Beach, 90(4), 18-27.
• Szczyrba, L. (2022). Imaging coastal waves with radar. Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, 3(7), 423-423.
• Szczyrba, L., Zhang, Y., Pamukcu, D., Eroglu, D. I., & Weiss, R. (2021). Quantifying the Role of Vulnerability in Hurricane Damage via a Machine Learning Case Study. Natural Hazards Review, 22(3), 04021028.
• Reidenbach, M. A., Stocking, J. B., Szczyrba, L., & Wendelken, C. (2021). Hydrodynamic interactions with coral topography and its impact on larval settlement. Coral Reefs, 40(2), 505-519.

Media Publications

• Szczyrba, L. (2021).. The Conversation, Academic Journalism Society.

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