Mitigating Natural Disaster Risks with NASA

September 28, 2023
By: The Actuarial Foundation

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This year at The Actuarial Foundation, we are hosting an exciting NASA-themed Modeling the Future Challenge workshop. At the event, we’ll hear from NASA experts about their approach to data analysis and risk mitigation in their Advanced Air Mobility programs. We’ll also explore exciting opportunities for students to connect with NASA for their Modeling the Future Challenge research projects.

“This innovative work with NASA will elevate our already successful Modeling the Future Challenge to new heights, encouraging more students to learn data analysis, math modeling, and risk mitigation in addition to discovering engaging analytical careers like actuarial science,” said Jason Leppin, Executive Director at The Actuarial Foundation.

The “Mitigating Natural Disaster Risks with NASA” virtual workshop will explore how NASA is helping solve the challenges of disaster mitigation and resilience. Over the course of the 90-minute program, we will explore how climate change increases the risk of natural disasters and will learn how NASA’s innovative technologies are being used to combat these risks. Joining us on October 24th from 6:00 to 7:30 PM EST are:

  • Marcus Johnson, Director, NASA Advanced Capabilities for Emergency Response Operations (ACERO)
  • Devin Boyle, Project Manager, NASA Advanced Air Mobility
  • Robert Lasalvia, Partnership Manager, NASA Office of STEM Engagement

Participants will learn how NASA’s ACERO project works to combat increasingly prevalent and dangerous wildfires. Experts from NASA’s Advanced Air Mobility team will showcase how other drone technologies are being used to mitigate all types of natural disasters including floods, hurricanes, droughts, and more.

Paul Heffernan, FSA, MAAA will help students understand and apply the abundance of resources that NASA offers and leverage the data into a robust risk mitigation Modeling the Future Challenge project.

This virtual workshop is open to the public. Please join this exciting event where NASA and Actuarial Science will cross paths.

Sign up here: https://www.mtfchallenge.org/nasa-webinar/


ABOUT Modeling the Future Challenge:

The Modeling the Future Challenge, a program of The Actuarial Foundation, is a real-world competition for high school students combining math-modeling, data-analysis, and risk-management into one exciting competition. To compete, students conduct their own research project that models real-world data, analyzing risks and making recommendations to companies, industry groups, governments, or organizations to solve local, national, and even global issues.

Actuary volunteers work in many different roles and are the main reason why this Challenge stands out from other math competitions. In their role as mentors, actuaries guide teams through the research, using the Actuarial Process, and help students gain a deeper understanding about how actuaries approach data science, mathematical modeling, and risk analysis. The connections actuaries bring to high school students open a whole new world to them as they begin to realize that they can help solve real world problems using math.

Learn more about the Modeling the Future Challenge on our website.