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ur Disaster Science Operations Center (DSOC) brings together students with a variety of faculty, staff and seasoned emergency management and response professionals to provide critical emergency management planning and operational support services to a growing list of clients including at the local, regional, national and international levels. DSOC integrates critical decision support for anticipated risks, incident management, and all-hazards monitoring and communications across public, private, government, and academic sectors through student-centered experiential learning and applied research.

DSOC is leading the AI innovation space for advanced applications in meteorology, disaster preparedness, and emergency management. As such, DSOC serves as Kentucky’s primary hub for disaster resilience, research, and decision support.

Our Disaster Science Operations Center (DSOC) brings together students with a variety of faculty, staff and seasoned emergency management and response professionals to provide critical emergency management planning and operational support services to a growing list of clients including at the local, regional, national and international levels. DSOC integrates critical decision support for anticipated risks, incident management, and all-hazards monitoring and communications across public, private, government, and academic sectors through student-centered experiential learning and applied research.

Mission

The mission of DSOC is to furnish students with operational experiential learning and applied research experiences that return tangible health and safety services to associated entities, such as WKU, the broader community, the state of Kentucky, as well as our various partners.

Vision

At its core, DSOC seeks to serve as a proactive all-hazards intelligence and support entity focused on the protection of life, property, the environment, and the economic stability of the university, communities, region, Commonwealth of Kentucky, and our consortium partners. We accomplish these goals while ensuring pathways for student success through innovative and best practices of applied learning and research.

Advancing this vision is a charge given DSOC by WKU Administration. We are moving forward with the development of a Consortium of Disaster Science with broadened multi-discipline academic programs, advanced research pathways, and enhanced experiential learning opportunities for both undergraduate and graduate students.

Who We Serve

DSOC serves WKU, the broader Bowling Green community, the Commonwealth of Kentucky, Local, State, and Federal agencies as well as our business and industry partners across the U.S.  For a list of our partners and information on becoming one, visit our Partners page.

Goals

  • Elevate the university and our community partners with innovative, pertinent weather and situational intelligence and operational support by working closely with decision-makers on various operational needs.
  • Develop and implement an all-hazards mitigation strategy for WKU.
  • Assist partners with forward and operational planning support for their organizations, specialized operations, and events.
  • Provide innovative customized hyperlocal weather forecast and decision-support services for partnered entities, including onsite real-time efforts.
  • Provide credentialed training in meteorological theory and applications for partnered entities via innovative customized workshops.
  • Focus on development of the Disaster Science Consortium that will broaden and enhance academic opportunities in the field of Disaster Science, and increase the level of expertise and scope of DSOC and its partners.
  • Support the Emergency Management Disaster Science (EMDS) undergraduate and graduate certificate programs and the graduate Homeland Security Sciences program as companion education components.
  • Provide high-quality communications and outreach extension of education efforts provided by the center.

What Drives Us

We are driven by merging professional practice with student engagement. Our current staffing includes qualified undergraduate Storm Spotter and Emergency Management Operators, Lead and General undergraduate Forecasters, graduate Forecasters, undergraduate Social Media analyst, and a variety of supporting students including those with expertise in computer scientist, visual design and science communications. We have a variety of faculty and staff members who provide expertise and support and one faculty director.

DSOC also has a dedicated advisory panel that consists of career professionals from a variety of disciplines from across the country.

What Anchors Us

DSOC is anchored by interdisciplinary operational collaborations at WKU for anticipated risk, incident management, and all-hazards monitoring and communications. Collaborations at WKU include White Squirrel Weather and the Meteorology Program, College of Health and Human Services, Environmental Health & Safety, Public Broadcasting, and Athletics. Together, these units interface with Police, Fire, Emergency Medical Services, and Emergency Management for anticipated risk, incident management, and all-hazards monitoring and communications.

What Makes DSOC Stand Out

DSOC is the unique collaboration of academic disciplines representing Meteorology natural and human sciences and other programs that support our mission. The operational platform is directly aligned with the focus and scope of our Emergency Management and Disaster Science (EMDS) and Homeland Security Sciences (HSS) programs. The academic rigor of our certificate and degree options showcased by our meteorology program and the opportunities for experiential learning and applied research available to our students make our program unique.

Meet the Team

Meet the team that makes DSOC happen… Meet the Team.

DSOC Facilities

See the facilities that comprise DSOC … DSOC Facilities.

Partners

Learn about the contribution of our Partners that continue to help DSOC grow and thrive … Partners.

Media

Read about upcoming events and recent news articles … Media.