Extreme weather resiliency demands improved weather and climate prediction and response strategies to strengthen the protection of life and property. Globally, flooding impacts over 96 million people per year, most within developing countries, at a mean cost of over $13.7 billion. In the United States, floods cause an average of 89 fatalities and $8.2 billion in damages each year. In Taiwan, flooding has led to nearly 1,000 fatalities and over $12.8 billion (NT) in damages since 2000. These numbers are expected to grow due to climate change, population growth, and increased vulnerability and exposure to extreme weather events. Through an internationally integrated and interdisciplinary approach, the US-Taiwan PIRE will investigate and improve "end-to-end" weather and climate prediction models, enhance the education of young US and Taiwanese scientists and future leaders, and bolster international and cultural exchange among students, scientists, and practitioners with the overarching goal of strengthening emergency response solutions and society's resiliency to extreme weather phenomena that threaten life and property.
The US-Taiwan PIRE- led by the University at Albany, State University of New York (US), National Central University (Taiwan), Howard University (US), National Taiwan University (Taiwan) and Academia Sinica (Taiwan) - will strive to address the following challenges: (1) better quantify trends in weather extremes on a regional scale (particularly in East Asia and the northeastern United States) through in-depth investigations of past extreme events and influences from large-scale global circulation patterns and changes in local environmental conditions; (2) examine new techniques for providing probabilistic numerical weather guidance on a regional scale; and (3) investigate the efficacy of decision-making by emergency managers informed with and without probabilistic weather forecasts and community impact information during extreme weather events. Further the US-Taiwan PIRE will prepare a cadre of US-Taiwanese atmospheric and social scientists and practitioners with disciplinary and interdisciplinary academic and research experiences geared around extreme weather and resiliency. Specifically, the PIRE will: (1) train the next generation of scientists and experts with crosscutting knowledge, skills, and understanding of regional climate and weather prediction, risk decision-making, and response during extreme weather events; (2) foster a culture of interdisciplinary research, training, and education to advance a greater understanding of resiliency and response solutions in addressing extreme weather; (3) institutionalize the US-Taiwan PIRE's internationally integrated academic, research, and experiential learning programs; and (4) advance the globalization of US and Taiwanese undergraduate and graduate students by building cross-cultural literacy into the PIRE's study abroad experience and broadening the participation of underrepresented groups through inter-institutional academic programming involving PIRE universities and practitioner partners.
