Disaster Research Center

Welcome to the eighth issue of The CHEER Chronicle, a quarterly e-newsletter designed to keep you informed on the latest news and milestones of the Hub.

The Hub is thrilled to feature DesignSafe in the Spring 2026 issue of Partner Perspectives, a quarterly column that highlights the strategic, collaborative work done with CHEER’s various partner organizations.

Jingya Wang, a postdoc on CHEER’s integration and knowledge management team, makes the Hub’s interdisciplinary research cohesive and accessible by connecting the dots across its six thrusts.

At the end of this month, the eight members of the Hub’s annual summer scholars cohort will convene in Greeneville, NC, at East Carolina University to begin the six-week program.

The Hub’s fourth annual-in person meeting, held in Houston on April 16th and 17th, brought together nearly 50 CHEER researchers, students, and partners to review progress, plans, and goals for the coming year.

Sarah DeYoung, CHEER’s households thrust and community engagement lead, joins The Alerting Authority podcast to offer her insight on the critical role animals – ranging from exotic pets to livestock – play in disaster decision-making and outcomes.

Randall “Randy” Kolar, a member of the Hub’s Hazards thrust, has been awarded the 2026 Medal for Excellence in Research University Teaching, one of Oklahoma’s most competitive teaching honors.

Welcome to the seventh issue of The CHEER Chronicle, a quarterly e-newsletter designed to keep you informed on the latest news and milestones of the Hub.

The Hub is thrilled to feature the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) in the Winter 2026 issue of Partner Perspectives, a quarterly column that highlights the strategic, collaborative work done alongside CHEER’s various partner organizations.

Maria Porada, a member of the Hub's households thrust, is a fifth-year PhD student at the University of Delaware’s Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering Department.

Randall "Randy" Kolar, a member of the Hub's Hazards thrust and director of the University of Oklahoma’s School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science, has been awarded the 2026 Medal for Excellence in Research University Teaching, one of the state's most competitive academic honors.

In this edition of the Hub’s “From the Field" series, hear directly from Christopher Alegbeleye, a PhD student on CHEER's buildings thrust, about his experience at the 2025 Society for Risk Analysis Meeting.

A.R. Siders, an expert on climate change adaptation policies with an emphasis on managed retreat, explains the numerous and far-reaching repercussions of sea level rise across Texas.

Shangjia Dong, a professor of construction and environmental engineering and a member of the Hub’s buildings thrust, explains how even minimal flooding in New York City would drastically disrupt its vital facilities and functions, putting residents and key resources at risk.

Welcome to the sixth issue of The CHEER Chronicle, the quarterly e-newsletter designed to keep you informed on the latest news and milestones of the Hub.

This article covers a first: a catastrophe bond that rewards homeowners and their insurer for installing “super roofs.” The North Carolina Insurance Underwriting Association (NCIUA), one of the Hub’s practitioner partners, was the first organization to test drive this first-of-its-kind initiative.

The CHEER Hub is recruiting undergraduate and graduate students for its fourth-annual summer scholars program at East Carolina University. Applications are due Friday, January, 30th.