Vanderbilt engineering faculty selected as co-author for Fifth National Climate Assessment
By Aran Sullivan
Janey Camp, research associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, has been selected as a contributor to the Fifth National Climate Assessment, a quadrennial report on the varied impacts and risks presented by global climate change across the country. The NCA5 is published by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, itself a federally mandated body overseen by 13 member agencies.
Camp has expertise in infrastructure resilience and flood mitigation and response strategies, and she will serve as an author of the Southeast chapter. The section of the report will address the risk of climate change in the Southeastern U.S. as well as provide research-backed response strategies for the area. The states included in this chapter are Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. Her chapter will be published, along with the rest of NCA5, in late 2023.
“It is such an honor to be part of the NCA5 Southeast chapter. We have an amazing team, and I’m looking forward to working with them on such a valuable product,” Camp said. “It is my hope that our chapter will be utilized by communities across the Southeast and beyond to help guide planning and infrastructure investment decisions for a more robust and resilient future as we all adapt to a changing climate.”
In 1990, Congress mandated that the U.S Global Change Research Program begin delivering reports about global climate change. The program convenes hundreds of experts from federal, state and local governments, as well as the academic, nonprofit and private sectors. The group evaluates recent findings relating to global climate change, their effects within the U.S. and projections for future trends in climate change. National Climate Assessments represent a transparent and accessible appraisal of the current state of global climate change and its current and potential impact on the U.S.
Camp received her Ph.D. in environmental engineering from Vanderbilt and is a licensed civil engineer in Tennessee. Camp’s primary research focus is on the interaction of nature and man-made systems and improved community resilience to disruptions caused by natural hazards. She is an expert in geospatial technologies, which aim to map and analyze the Earth and human societies. Specifically, Camp’s focus is in modeling high-risk areas for future flooding and the factors that contribute to the overall impacts of those events on communities.
“Professor Camp was asked to serve because of her knowledge of the challenges that extreme weather poses to our infrastructure, for working closely with communities to address those challenges, and for her many contributions to the profession,” said Doug Adams, chair and Distinguished Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering. “We are proud to have our colleague serving on this important national committee.”