Kyra M. Bryant

 

Kyra M. Bryant

Doctoral Student & Graduate Research Assistant
Tennessee State University
Computer Information Systems Engineering
Contact:  615.419.7535 or kmb5482@yahoo.com

Education:

Tennessee State University (2016)

  • Civil and Environmental Engineering, Master of Engineering
  • Applied Geospatial Information Systems (GIS) Certificate

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (2007)

  • Secondary Mathematics, Bachelor of Science
  • Applied Mathematics with a concentration in General Education, Bachelor of Science

Professional Experience:

  • Graduate Research Assistant, Tennessee State University (May 2015 – current)
  • Intern, Pillars Development, LLC, Nashville, Tennessee (March 2016 – August 2016)

Project Scope:

Hurricanes and tropical cyclones cause destruction and loss of life through flooding from storm surges.  Storm surge has become a recognizable threat to coastal communities worldwide.  Wind stress is the driving force behind storm surge, yet predicting wind stress remains befuddled.  Scientists are certain its calculation consists of density, speed, and a drag coefficient.  Although density and speed are obtainable variables, calculating the drag coefficient is a controversially ambiguous topic in the tropical cyclone community.  Since these all-powerful storms are unstoppable and theoretically escalating in intensity and frequency, due to rising sea surface temperatures, augmenting forecasting accuracy is the only solution to helping those in danger.

A reliable model must accurately portray each parameter associated with storm surge.  Thus, this project aims to minimize the mystery behind the drag coefficient and improve other variables, such as bottom friction, to advance storm surge forecasting.  Hindcasts of Hurrcane Rita (2005) and Hurricane Ike (2008) are simulated using the Simulating WAves Nearshore (SWAN) + ADvanced CIRCulation (ADCIRC) model.  SWAN+ADCIRC integrated with the Weather Research Forecasting (WRF) model will amalgamate the best of three modeling worlds – waves, circulation, and weather.   Increasing forecasting accuracy will allow at-risk communities to prepare and evacuate accordingly.  This is the only avenue to avoiding fatalities from one of the most fatal natural disasters.

Publication and Presentations:

  • Bryant, K.M., Akbar, M. An Exploration of Wind Stress Calculation Techniques in Hurricane Storm Surge Modeling. J. Mar. sci. Eng. 2016, 4(3), 58; doi: 10.3390/jmse4030058
  • 2017 Regents Summer Math Academy, Nashville, Tennessee
  • 2017 Graduate Education Week at the Legislative Plaza, Nashville, Tennessee
  • 2017 Tennessee Conference of Graduate Schools (TCGS) 40th Anniversary Celebration, Nashville, Tennessee
  • 2016 14th Estuarine and Coastal Modeling Conference (ECM14), Kingston, Rhode Island
  • 2016 & 2017 Emerging Researchers National (ERN) Conference in STEM, Washington, DC
  • 2016 & 2017 Tennessee State University Research Symposium, Nashville, Tennessee
  • 2016 ADvanced CIRCulaton (ADCIRC) User’s Group, Vicksburg, Mississippi

Honors:

Research Advisor:

Dr. Muhammad Akbar
Assistant Professor
Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering Department
3500 John A. Merritt Blvd.
Nashville, TN  37209-1561
Contact: 615.963.5392 or makbar@tnstate.edu
 www.tnstate.edu/me/