Bio

Advisor and Program

Dr. Casey Dietrich
Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, NC State University

About

I am a Ph.D. student at NC State, where my research focuses on coastal engineering and computational hazard modeling. Growing up in St. Augustine, Florida, I developed a deep connection to the beauty and vulnerability of coastal ecosystems and the close-knit communities that depend on them. That connection, along with witnessing the devastation caused by hurricanes, inspired my journey into engineering and continues to drive my passion for protecting coastal environments and the people and wildlife who call them home.

My background spans civil and environmental engineering, marketing, communications, and social science, shaping my interest in science communication and connecting technical research to real-world support. As a Global Change Research Fellow, I’m excited to explore interdisciplinary perspectives, community priorities, and applied adaptation needs while improving how complex coastal hazard information is communicated and understood. Outside of research, I enjoy trivia, yoga, spending time with my cats, and the North Carolina seasons.

Research Interests

My research focuses on modernizing the computational modeling approach of wave and storm surge impacts to coastal communities, developing tools that enhance control over the spatial and temporal model domains. In particular, my work puts an emphasis on the nearshore coastal zone and helps to allocate computational resources on regions of interest, allowing a focus on wave parameters and water levels impacting coastal communities. These advancements improve the accuracy and efficiency of risk projections and lead to improved response planning, resilience, and evaluation of climate-adaptation actions.