Spring 2014 Research Opportunity:
National Science Foundation (NSF) Hazard Scholars
Flood Resilient Infrastructure and Sustainable Environments (Flood RISE) Project
Mentors:
Professor Richard Matthew, PhD
Beth Karlin, Director, Transformational Media Lab
Project Background: Flooding is a growing challenge, particularly in urban areas such as
Southern California. The Flood RISE project at UC Irvine seeks to better understand factors and
communication strategies that may influence behavior change in communities vulnerable to
flooding.
Project Description: Flood RISE will be conducting household surveys within the communities
adjacent to the two largest estuaries in Southern California: Newport Bay Estuary (NBE) and
Tijuana River Estuary (TRE). The survey will gather information from residents living in these
areas about their current knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors with regard to flood risk and
response. The survey will be conducted in-person during Spring/Summer 2014, with a goal of
250 interviews per site.
Position Description: We have approximately 20-25 positions available. Students will be
trained at the beginning of the quarter in survey administration and interviewing skills. After
training is completed, students will be deployed in pairs to conduct door-to-door, in-person
surveys in the communities of Newport Beach and along the US-Mexico border. Most UCI
students will be conducting research in Newport Beach, but opportunities to collect data at the
US-Mexico border are also available (note: travel expenses will be reimbursed).
Course Description: All students will be expected to enroll in a Flood RISE Hazard Scholars
Course for 4 academic credits. The course will be a special section of Social Ecology 198 and
will be offered on a pass/no pass basis. Course time and location TBD.
Course Requirements: Students are expected to attend all course meetings as well as
approximately 50 hours of in-person interviewing in their selected community.
Benefits: Benefits include: recognition as “UCI Hazard Scholars” including a certificate of
completion and thank you letter from Professor Richard Matthew at the end of the course,
training in qualitative research and interview techniques, and experience in field-based data
collection. Additional perks may include the occasional snack/meal during class as well as
project shirts/gear. A small number of students may also be invited to continue with the project
into Summer 2014.
Interested students should fill out and return the attached application to
FloodRISEuci@gmail.com no later than Friday, February 28.
FLOOD RISE HAZARD SCHOLARS
RESEARCH APPLICATION
To apply, please fill out this form, save it as “Flood RISE app (your name)”, and email it to
FloodRISEuci@gmail.com with subject line: Hazard Scholar application. Applications are due no later
than Friday, February 28.
Name:
Date:
Year in School:
Anticipated Graduation Date:
Phone:
Email:
Major:
Minor (if applicable):
GPA:
GPA in major:
Requirements:
1.
A minimum 3.3 GPA
2.
Must commit to weekly attendance at course meetings and 50 hours of fieldwork.
Please list any related courses you have taken and the grades you received:
Explain briefly why you are interested in working on the Flood RISE project:
Do you have any previous survey or other research experience? If so, please describe.
Please list any other knowledge, skills, or abilities that may assist you in performing this
work (e.g., computer skills, statistics, leadership positions)?
Site interest (please select at least one).
Newport Beach
San Diego/Mexico Border
Do you speak Spanish?
Yes
No