The following University of Delaware experts are now available for comment on a variety of topics related to the terrorist attacks on America:
Research on the aftermath:
Kathleen Tierney, director of the Disaster Research Center and professor of sociology, can talk about the results of the center's field team's research after the disaster. Staff members investigated the response of the community and organizations to the bombing and how they came together to handle the everyday tasks of the recovery. James Kendra, DRC research coordinator, and Trisha Wachtendorf, field director, members of the field team, also are available for interviews.
Emergency response:
Richard Sylves, professor of political science and international relations, studies disaster policy and emergency management. He has written two articles on emergency management in New York City and a third on the emergency response during the first bombing of the World Trade Center.
Russell Dynes, professor emeritus at the Disaster Research Center, is willing to speak to the media, and his speciality is emergency response.
Ardeshir Faghri, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering and the director of the Delaware Center for Transportation Studies, is an expert on transportation systems engineering, systems design and operation. He can talk about airline and airport operations.
Effects on people:
John Bishop, Charles Beale or Jonathan Lewis, in the University's Center for Counseling and Student Development, are knowledgeable about the effect of the tragedy on students.
The media:
Danilo Yanich, policy scientist with the Center for Community Development and Family Policy, is an expert in television news content and the news media's coverage of crime.
Finance:
James L. Butkiewicz, chairperson of the Department of Economics, can discuss the economic ramifications of the crisis.
Engineering:
Michael Chajes (pronounced cha-jis) chairman of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, conducts research on structural dynamics, analysis and design.
Memorials
David Meyers, associate professor of art and a sculptor, was born and raised in Oklahoma City. When the Murrah Building there was bombed, Meyers was commissioned to design two memorials there. He said it's essential that the city of New York erect a memorial to 9/11 at the WTC site so that people can feel close to their loved ones and to "the actuality of it."
Foreign students
Mary Martin, assistant vice provost responsible for the documentation of foreign students, is in charge of UD compliance with the Homeland Security Act. UD and 70,000 other educational institutions must be able to transmit its foreign student visa documentation to the Immigration and Nationalization Service for clearance by Jan. 31, 2003. After that, no educational institution will be able to issue a visa to a foreign student without INS approval.
Scott Stevens, director of the English Language Institute, said UD experienced a 30 percent drop in the number of professionals enrolled in ELI programs after 9/11, but other academic institutions experienced a 50 percent reduction. However, now enrollment numbers are on their way up. Stevens said foreign professionals were more spooked by the anthrax scare than by the bombing.
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