07/17/2026
“I’m really passionate about specializing our emergency management and response to specific areas,” said Ph.D. student Mac Gagné. “Specific areas have different needs, different ways of communicating things, different channels of distribution for materials.”
In 2024, as Hurricane Helene rocked North Carolina, Gagné was working as a National NOAA Knauss Fellow to FEMA; as the hurricane stormed northward, she put her computer science background to work, conducting immediate calculations and providing necessary algorithms to help guide logistics on the ground in western NC and beyond.
Now at NC State, Gagné specializes in narrative artificial intelligence, a branch of generative AI focused on developing better technology for emergency managers. Learn more about Gagné and her work ⤵️
Story from North Carolina Sea Grant
NC State University, NC State Engineering, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Sea Grant College Program, FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency