PhD Geological Sciences
| l.szczyrba@queensu.ca | |
| Website | https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-szczyrba/; https://blogs.lt.vt.edu/szczyrba/ |
| Thesis Topic | Numerical modeling of coastal hazards and sediment transport |
| Supervisor | Dr. Peir Pufahl & Dr. Ryan Mulligan (CIVL) |
Research Interests
Storm surge, erosion, coastal hydrodynamics, flood impacts and mitigation
About Laura
After witnessing the devastating impacts of flooding during disaster response deployments to Louisiana and Puerto Rico, Laura returned to graduate school to improve flood hazard quantification and mitigation. Her interdisciplinary research draws from earth science, engineering, and social science principles.
Laura received her Master's degree from Virginia Tech's Geosciences Department where she studied the building damage caused by Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. Her prior degrees include a B.S. in Environmental Sciences and a B.A. in Spanish from the University of Virginia. While at the University of Virginia, her research focused on coastal hydrodynamics. Following undergrad, she worked for a few years at an engineering firm, where she contributed to flood hazard mitigation and disaster response projects.
Awards
Grants and Fellowships
- Student Challenge Research Grant, US Coastal Research Program (2019)
- Disaster Resilience and Risk Management Fellowship, NSF-NRT (2018)
- CURC Zero Waste Grant, College and University Recycling Coalition (2015)
- From the Grounds up Grant, University of Virginia Office for Sustainability (2015)
- Service Grant, University of Virginia Parents Committee (2014)
Awards and Certifications
- 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, University of Virginia Environmental Sciences (2016)
- Intermediate Honors, University of Virginia (2014)
Publications
Reidenbach, M., Stocking, J.B., Szczyrba, L., Wendelken, C. (2020) Hydrodynamic interactions with coral topography and its impact on larval settlement. Manuscript submitted for publication.
Szczyrba, L., Zhang, Y., Pamukcu, D., Eroglu, D.I., Weiss, R. (2020). Quantifying the role of vulnerability in hurricane damage via a machine learning case study. Manuscript submitted for publication.
Archival, Peer-Reviewed Conference Papers
Szczyrba, L., Zhang, Y., Pamukcu, D., Eroglu, D.I. (2020). A machine learning method to quantify the role of vulnerability in hurricane damage, Proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management ISCRAM 2020 (Eds. Amanda Lee Hughes, Fiona McNeill and Christopher Zobel).
Eroglu, D.I., Pamukcu, D., Szczyrba, L., Zhang, Y. (2020). Analyzing and contextualizing social vulnerability to natural disasters in Puerto Rico, Proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management ISCRAM 2020 (Eds. Amanda Lee Hughes, Fiona McNeill and Christopher Zobel).