Students will investigate how natural hazards intersect with community vulnerability by engaging directly with people affected by or responsible for disaster preparedness. Through structured interviews and empathy mapping, they will ground future solution design in real user evidence rather than assumptions.

Students will synthesize their disaster interview notes and hazard data into clear, evidence-based problem definitions. They will identify patterns across users, connect needs to scientific hazard trends, and craft a focused How Might We statement grounded in direct quotes and quantitative data to guide ideation in the next phase.

Students will generate a wide range of mitigation solutions grounded in real user evidence and hazard data, then narrow their ideas to 2–3 strong concepts using structured evaluation tied to community needs and risk patterns.

Students will build, test, and revise low- to higher-fidelity prototypes of their disaster mitigation solutions, using real user feedback and hazard data to strengthen design decisions before the Disaster Insights Fair.

Students will conduct a final round of user testing with new participants, refine their resilience prototypes using documented feedback, and present their full design journey at the Disaster Insights Fair to an authentic audience, clearly connecting hazard data and user evidence to their mitigation solutions.