Riches, Risks and Resilience: An Application of Science, Engineering, and Policy in the United States

The Gulf Coast of the United States –the states of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida—generates trillions of dollars each year to the United States economy. Its riches stem from natural resources of oil and gas, seafood, and timber, as well as river-based economies of navigation, shipping, and commerce through some of the country’s busiest ports. Its risks stem from rapid coastal land loss, a dynamic and transitioning energy industry, low education and health outcomes of its residents, and a changing climate that portends stronger, more frequent extreme weather events and coastal storms. As a region, this economic and cultural juggernaut must be resilient to these risks. Applications of science, engineering, and policy are key to affecting solutions around these riches, risks, and resilience. The Gulf Research Program of the National Academy of Sciences received a $500 million endowment from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010 to use science and engineering to elevate the resilience of the people, the economy, and the environment of this region for generations to come.

Hear Lauren Alexander Augustine in this seminar, part of the distinguished Moore Lecture Series, share her insights and experience. Networking and a reception will follow.

Lauren Alexander Augustine is the executive director for the Gulf Research Program. She is responsible for overseeing all aspects of management and use of the criminal settlement funds from the Deepwater Horizon disaster that were entrusted with the National Academies by the federal government. This includes fulfilling the vision, defining the strategic direction, and leading the development and implementation of this multidimensional, science-based program.

Since her tenure at the National Academies began in 2002, Augustine has gained experience working in a variety of roles on a broad range of topics pertaining to water, natural disasters, and resilience. Prior to joining the Gulf Research Program in 2018, she served as director of the Resilient America Program, which supports communities’ efforts to build resilience to extreme events using science and diverse stakeholder engagement. In addition, she has formerly served as country director for the African Science Academy Development Initiative, a decade-long program that built scientific capacity in national academies across Africa; as director of the Disasters Roundtable; and as a study director for the Water Science and Technology Board.

Outside of her work at the National Academies, Augustine has served on the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Risk and Resilience; was a member of the Advisory Board for the American Geophysical Union’s Thriving Earth Exchange program; and was a juror for two resilience competitions, Rebuild by Design for recovery after Hurricane Sandy and Resilience by Design in San Francisco. She is also a NATO expert for the Civil Protection Group.

Augustine earned her B.S. in applied mathematics and systems engineering and her M.S. in environmental planning and policy from the University of Virginia, and her Ph.D. in an interdisciplinary program that combined physical hydrology, geomorphology, and ecology from Harvard University.

Riches, Risks and Resilience: An Application of Science, Engineering, and Policy in the United States

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