A visit to the White House

More than 200 experts, scientists, policymakers and top-level speakers appeared at the White House Water Summit and addressed topics ranging from policy initiatives to infrastructural projects. In addition to participating in the event, Hogan met with the Department of the Interior’s Tom Iseman and staff members from the offices of Congressman Jared Huffman and Senator Chuck Schumer. He capped off his week in Washington D.C. with a presentation about his experiences at a Water Summit luncheon on March 24th.

Hogan also got a chance to tour the West Wing during his trip, which received funding through a grant from the Netherland-America Foundation. “I did not see President Obama but I did see their family dog, Bo, which was also cool,” he said. “Never before have I been star struck by a dog.”

Hogan developed an early interest in water resources engineering after his father served as a park ranger for a northern California water district. While in high school, he also spent a summer volunteering in Honduras. “While living and working there, I witnessed the lingering impacts of the 1998 flooding from Hurricane Mitch,” he said. “Shortly after I returned home, Hurricane Katrina breached the flood defences of New Orleans and submerged 80% of the city. This catastrophic event highlighted the fact that effective water management was a challenge facing nations from all points on the economic spectrum.”

Hogan holds a BSc in Environmental Science and Engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles and spent six years working as a Civil Engineer for the US Army Corps of Engineers. At TU Delft he’s researching strategies for improving flood risk management to combat the impacts of global climate change. “My research project addresses this problem by demonstrating the utility of Dutch risk-based design methods and economic optimisation in minimising sensitivity to climate uncertainties and maximising long-term flood risk reduction,” he said.

Global climate change may lead to rising sea levels that could devastate major population centres in California like the San Francisco Bay Area. Hogan hopes to use what he’s learned at TU Delft to become a technical adviser to policymakers and help the state prepare for these potential threats. “Unfortunately, many coastal regions in the United States have been slow to address this issue,” Hogan said. “As a result investments into flood defence infrastructure have been limited to post-disaster programs like those that followed Hurricane Sandy and Hurricane Katrina.”