Levees are critical infrastructural elements for flood protection that are built with earth materials. They run parallel to rivers and coastlines and are designed to keep water out of the low-lying communities and agricultural lands behind the levee. America’s over 100,000 miles of levees were built with varying levels of quality using a wide variety of materials that are often dictated by availability rather than engineering specifications and these aging levees are being exposed to increasing stress due to climate change. Moreover, the construction of levees presents the so-called levee paradox, in which the presence of the levee system lowers public perception of risk in protected areas, thereby reducing incentives to take auxiliary precautions and leading to reduced preparedness. This Leading Engineering for America's Prosperity, Health, and Infrastructure (LEAP-HI) research will enable riverside communities to better analyze their options and resources for flood defense and plan for a projected increase in the frequency of extreme weather events. The project will expand our understanding of how infrastructure responds and fails during natural hazards. It will include collaborations between universities (including a Historically Black University), government agencies, and society. Finally, the project will contribute to U.S. workforce development through training a diverse group of students on the development and deployment of cutting-edge technology for the assessment of flood and environmental hazards.