Sara Hamideh Named 2026 NAS Frontiers of Science Fellow

Sara Hamideh, associate professor in the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, has been selected as a 2026 Frontiers of Science Fellow by the National Academy of Sciences. She is one of 81 early-career scientists from academia, industry and government across the United States chosen to participate in this year's invitation-only program.

The 2026 U.S. Frontiers of Science symposium, held March 5 to 7 at the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Center in Irvine, California, brought together emerging leaders in science who have already made recognized contributions to their fields. According to the Academy's formal invitation, the symposium is its "premiere activity for distinguished young scientists" and is designed to foster interdisciplinary exchange and long-term professional networks.

Since its inception in 1989, the Frontiers of Science program has convened researchers identified as future leaders in science. More than 370 alumni have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, and 22 have gone on to receive Nobel Prizes.

A National Forum for Cross-Disciplinary Exchange

Unlike conferences focused on a single discipline, the Frontiers of Science symposium is structured to expose participants to advances across a broad range of scientific domains. The 2026 program included sessions spanning astrophysics, brain-computer interfaces, environmental contaminants, microbiome science, sea level change and climate-related health risks.

Over three days, fellows participated in formal presentations, flash poster talks, extended poster sessions and structured discussions designed to encourage cross-disciplinary collaboration

The format intentionally creates space for scientists from different backgrounds to interrogate methods, share frameworks and identify emerging connections between fields.

For Hamideh, whose work bridges disaster science, housing policy and climate resilience, the interdisciplinary design of the symposium aligns closely with her research approach.

Research at the Intersection of Disaster, Policy, and Housing

During the symposium's poster session, Hamideh presented her recent research examining housing damage and local development policies in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in Lee County, Florida.

Her work traces how pre-disaster development decisions shape patterns of vulnerability and exposure, ultimately influencing the scale and distribution of damage. Drawing on spatial, statistical, and policy analyses, her research integrates parcel-level data, FEMA flood zone designations, elevation and socioeconomic indicators to better understand the drivers of destruction.

The study highlights that hurricane damage is not determined solely by exposure to hazard, but by the interaction between physical vulnerability and social conditions. Homes located in FEMA's high-risk coastal Zone VE accounted for the majority of major damages, while mobile homes represented half of destroyed structures.

The findings also underscore how elevation is strongly associated with damage severity, with destroyed and majorly damaged properties located at substantially lower elevations than unaffected homes.

Beyond mapping damage patterns, Hamideh's research interrogates the role of policy. By coding 41 local policy documents and evaluating how tools such as zoning, flood mitigation regulations and capital improvement plans influence exposure and vulnerability, the study demonstrates that many development policies address physical vulnerability more directly than social vulnerability.

The research concludes that strengthening resilience requires aligning short-term investments in housing protection with long-term strategies that reduce exposure in high-risk zones and prevent new development in FEMA-designated Special Flood Hazard Areas.

Advancing Climate and Community Resilience

Hamideh's selection as a 2026 NAS Frontiers of Science Fellow recognizes both the rigor and societal relevance of her scholarship. Hurricane Ian, which made landfall as a Category 4 storm in September 2022, produced catastrophic flooding in southwest Florida and accounted for nearly half of the state's confirmed fatalities in Lee County alone.

Her research contributes to a growing body of work demonstrating that climate risk is shaped as much by policy and planning decisions as by meteorological forces. By integrating hazard science with housing and land use policy, Hamideh's scholarship offers evidence-based pathways for reducing disaster losses without exacerbating displacement or inequity.

Participation in the Frontiers of Science symposium positions Hamideh within a national cohort of researchers working at the leading edges of discovery. The Academy-funded program supports full participation for all fellows, underscoring its commitment to investing in emerging scientific leadership.

For Stony Brook University, her selection affirms the institution's strength in interdisciplinary climate and resilience research and highlights the national visibility of faculty scholarship that bridges science, policy, and community impact.

As the challenges of climate change intensify, forums such as the NAS Frontiers of Science symposium play a critical role in catalyzing the cross-sector collaboration needed to confront them. Through her participation, Hamideh joins a distinguished network of scientists shaping the future of research and its application to society's most pressing challenges.