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WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 16: University of California, Santa Cruz, Professor of Astronomy and ... More Astrophysics Dr. Natalie Batalha talks about advances in the study of exoplanets made possible by the James Webb Space Telescope while testifying before the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill on November 16, 2022 in Washington, DC. Batalha and other scientists shared a new imagery and measurements and answered questions about low- and high-energy micrometeoroid strikes that have affected Webb's productivity and longevity. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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Scientific research and related advances are cornerstones for our way of life. Virtually every convenience, medication, or technology emerged from basic science research, technological developments, and even surprises along the way. However, many people do not fully appreciate how academic inquiry, research, and scholarship are embedded within their daily lives. In some cases, there is skepticism of science itself. As the research enterprise navigates through headwinds, I argue that a little introspection and humility are needed to improve science translation.
A 2020 paper that I co-authored with an anthropologist and civil engineer provides a pathway for this discussion. In that paper, entitled “From hubris to humility: Transcending original sin in managing hydroclimatic risk,” my colleagues Don Nelson (lead author), Brian Bledsoe and I argued that extreme weather events like flooding, drought, and hurricanes present growing risks to our water infrastructure and societal well-being. Hurricane Helene (2024), the Texas Winter Storm (2021), and extreme rainfall-related water supply disruptions in Jackson, Mississippi are case studies in the convergence of hydrometeorological extremes, risk and resilience.
JACKSON, MS - DECEMBER 29: Water is redirected from a damaged water main break along McLaurin Road ... More as workers try to figure out how to fix the broken pipe on December 29, 2022 in Jackson, Mississippi. The water main break was caused by unusual cold weather causing the infrastructure to fail and leaving residents with no running water. Jackson residents have been suffering from unsafe drinking water for years forcing people to use bottle water to drink, cook and brush their teeth. Flooding in August caused the water treatment facility to malfunction leaving residents without water to bathe or even flush toilets. (Photo by Joshua Lott/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
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A White House Executive Order issued in March stated, “This order empowers State, local, and individual preparedness and injects common sense into infrastructure prioritization and strategic investments through risk-informed decisions that make our infrastructure, communities, and economy resilient to global and dynamic threats and hazards.” We posited in that 2020 paper that effective risk management will require scholarly and application stakeholders to move beyond hubris and approach 21st Century challenges with humility.
Essentially the point is that strategies must evolve beyond historical approaches not suited for contemporary events. Dr. Brian Bledsoe is the director of the Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems at the University of Georgia. He often talks about urban stormwater design being hampered by past assumptions of “stationarity.” Unfortunately, the rainstorms of 1970 are different than the ones today. Bledsoe is also a part of a consortium seeking to employ nature-based solutions to enable resiliency to environmental stressors. Such innovations are not constrained by the “hubris” of traditional engineered training and methods.
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