2025 Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists National Laureate, Elaina Sutley, Featured in NPR’s Short Wave Podcast

From New Zealand to New York, people and communities are moving to avoid climate disasters. In the face of floods, wildfires and other natural disasters, when should a community relocate to avoid potential harm? This month’s Nature Quest is about that very question. Listener Molly Magid in New Zealand wanted to know if and how other communities have chosen the path of “managed retreat.” That’s the purposeful and coordinated movement of people and assets out of harm’s way. In this episode, we speak to: Elaina Sutley, a professor in structural engineering at the University of Kansas and associate dean for Impact and Belonging, and a laureate of the 2025 Blavatnik National Award for Young Scientists;
Miyuki Hino, a professor in the city and regional planning department and in the environment, ecology and energy program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Morris Alexie, a community engagement specialist with the Woodwell Climate Research Center and former tribal administrator for the Native Village of Nunapitchuk.