By Dave Scheiber
USF doctoral student Libby Royer will never forget the devastation to the beachfront homes of Pinellas County she witnessed following hurricanes Helene and Milton in the fall of 2024. But that memory is accompanied by another powerful image that lingers: A community coalescing to lend a helping hand to those left with no place to return.
“After Helene, we were here the day after it passed; it was just so impressive that even though roads were closed, homes were destroyed and there were piles of sand in people’s houses, I really saw a community coming together,” she said. “Whether it was cleaning up someone’s house or helping people grab their belongings -- I think it was just a really amazing thing to see.”
USF Professor Ping Wang and doctoral student Libby Royer
That same bold spirit applies to Royer, Ping Wang, professor of geosciences, and her USF coastal research classmates. They have immersed themselves in pre- and post-storm data collection, visiting the shoreline frequently to track the damage, analyze changes in the shoreline and the ways in which beaches have been altered by the storms.
Their hands-on mission is to assess future trouble spots and find solutions to potential problems before another catastrophic storm makes landfall in the region.
“We’re reading about hurricanes and then coming out here and seeing the direct impacts,” she said. “I think that it’s a really, really valuable experience to be able to see everything. We’re very much at the forefront of nature-based solutions, resiliency planning and vulnerability planning.”
Royer has come a long way since earning her undergraduate degree in environmental studies at Oberlin College in northeastern Ohio. She went on to graduate school at USF to not only learn about problems, but also how to solve them. She then broadened her field of interest to coastal geology as a doctoral student and has never looked back.
“That’s really exciting and provides a lot of opportunities,” she said. “It reminds you why you’re doing the research, especially when we do our post-hurricane research.”
Seeing the damage up close, then interacting with the community members affected by the storms, has been highly impactful. “It really centers you and brings you home as to why this research is really important,” she said.
And why being bold in tackling it makes such a difference.