From radiation safety to economic impact, The University of South Carolina Media Relations Office has prepared a list of faculty experts who can discuss various aspects of the Japan crisis.
With the number of traumas currently affecting Japan, it's people will reach a breaking point without some psychological first aid.
For questions about the design of the nuclear reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi complex in Japan and the gravity of radiation released from the reactors, please contact Leon West, nuclear engineer and professor of engineering at the University of Arkansas. West has more than 40 years of experience in nuclear physics, radiation protection and nuclear engineering. He worked in the nuclear industry for nine years before returning to academia.
He can discuss short- and long-term effects of exposure to high levels of environmental radiation from nuclear accidents.
Bingham Cady is a professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Cornell University. He helped operate Cornell’s now-closed on-campus nuclear reactor and has been a consultant for several nuclear energy companies.
Earth remote sensing satellites and social networking tools are in use to help respond to the multi-prong tragedy in Japan of earthquake, tsunami, and the crippling of nuclear power plants.
The devastation from the earthquake and tsunami in Japan has filled television screens this week, presenting images that are difficult to watch, but hard to turn away from. If it’s hard enough for adults to comprehend the scale of destruction, should parents reach for the remote control when their children are in the room? Not necessarily, says psychology professor Deborah L. Best, who notes that it’s going to be nearly impossible for parents to shield their children from the news.
The situation at Japan's Fukushima nuclear facility has become increasingly serious with the growing possibility of a complete meltdown, says University of Maryland energy policy expert Nathan Hultman. “Damage to the nuclear fuel containment potentially is a very serious problem that complicates efforts to prevent a total meltdown.”
Professors from University of Kentucky's College of Engineering and Department of Physics and Astronomy are available to comment on Japan’s nuclear crisis. A scientist from Kentucky Geological Survey and professors from the University of Kentucky's College of Arts and Sciences, are available to comment on the earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan on Friday, as well as the tsunami warnings that affect the islands in the Pacific, including Hawaii.
Institute of Nuclear Materials Management encourages donations to Red Cross for Japan disaster Relief.
The damage to three nuclear power plants in Japan will renew debate worldwide, prompting a new look at needed levels of safety and redundancy, says University of Maryland energy policy expert Nathan Hultman. “The events at Fukushima Daiichi will complicate planning for nuclear expansion for the coming years in all countries.”
Panneer Selvam, professor of civil engineering at the University of Arkansas, is available to discuss structural stability of reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex in Japan. Selvam has taught structural loading 20 years. His research has focused on methods for obtaining design loadings for wind, earthquakes and other natural disasters relevant to national and local building codes. He uses computer simulation in nanostructures to model the effect of natural forces on buildings.
The devastating Japan earthquake is the latest in a series of 'mega-quakes' over the past seven years, says University of Maryland geophysicist Laurent Montesi, an expert in earthquakes and related phenomena. "I am struck by the frequency of large seismic events we have been having since the 2004 Sumatra one," Montesi notes.
Hundreds are confirmed dead and thousands without shelter or power after an earthquake of 8.9 magnitude, and resulting tsunami, near the Japanese island of Honshu. These University of Wisconsin-Madison experts can provide context and analysis for interested media.
The National Center for Family Literacy’s homepage as well as its Wonderopolis.org site will have special lessons on the disaster in Japan beginning Saturday, March 12. The free, online lessons and activities will help parents explain the natural disasters to their children.
Seismology, geophysics, civil engineering and nuclear power experts at the University of Utah are available for comment and questions about today’s earthquake in Japan and its potential aftermath.
The Florida State University has internationally recognized faculty researchers who stand ready to comment on a variety of topics related to the March 11 Japanese earthquake and resulting tsunami. The following experts are available to speak with the news media on potential dangers at Japan’s nuclear facilities, the physical processes that underlie the formation of a tsunami, the challenges that the public health sector faces in the coming hours and days, and how religion figures in to the way the Japanese people react to and deal with a disaster of this magnitude.
An earthquake expert at Michigan Technological University can explain the phenomenon of the life-threatening tsunami that often follows a major earthquake.
For questions about damage to buildings and infrastructure due to the earthquake in Japan, please contact Brady Cox, assistant professor of civil engineering at the University of Arkansas. A geotechnical engineer, Cox specializes in issues related to earthquake loading, soil dynamics and material characterization and response to stress waves.
A geologist who develops mathematical models to depict precisely how the Earth moves during a quake and who was among the first to survey the origin of the 2004-tsunami-triggering earthquake, deep beneath the Indian Ocean, is available to answer questions about today’s quake and resulting tsunami.
Thomas D. O’Rourke, earthquake expert and professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Cornell University, comments on the massive earthquake in Japan and its impact on infrastructure. O’Rourke is a member of the Advisory Committee for Earthquake Hazard Reduction, which is the national advisory committee for earthquakes in the U.S. NOTE: Prof. O’Rourke is available for on-camera interviews
Philip Liu, Cornell professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, is an expert on tsunamis, ocean waves and their impact on coastlines. He led the NSF-sponsored group of U.S. scientists who investigated the aftermath of the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
Seismologists have developed a new system that could be used to warn future populations of an impending tsunami only minutes after the initial earthquake.
Devils Lake in northeastern North Dakota has risen more than 29 feet since 1993, cost more than $1billion, and inundated towns, farms, and homes. Runoff from heavy snow could swell the glacial lake, which covers 252 sq. miles, by more than 50 sq. miles this spring.
Last summer’s disastrous and deadly Pakistan floods were caused by a rogue weather system that wandered hundreds of miles farther west than is normal for such systems, new research shows.
A graduate student has used FEMA software in a new way to predict the effects of rising lake levels on Minnewaukan, N.D. Devils Lake has risen nearly 29 feet since 1993, and is in danger of overtaking the town, which was once eight miles from the lake. The maps will help officials and citizens make decisions about whether to relocate all or parts of the town.
Georgia Tech Savannah Civil and Environmental Engineering Associate Professor Hermann Fritz is featured as one of the research team members in a recent Jakarta Globe article about the Mentawai Islands earthquake and tsunami that took place in October off the coast of Sumatra.
Community-based education and awareness programs minimized the death toll from the recent Samoan tsunami, though there are still ways to improve the warning and evacuation process, according to a team of researchers that traveled to Samoa last month.
Geography researchers at the University of South Carolina are conducting climate research at the Congaree National Park, the largest old-growth floodplain forest that remains in the North America.
A magnitude-8.1 earthquake and tsunami that killed 192 people last year in Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga actually was a triple whammy: The 8.1 “great earthquake” concealed and triggered two magnitude-7.8 quakes.
Dr. Peter Hotez from The George Washington University is available to comment on the risk of water-borne diseases as a result of the recent flooding in Pakistan.
New research indicates that one of the largest fresh-water floods in Earth's history happened about 17,000 years ago and inundated a large area of Alaska that is now occupied in part by the city of Wasilla.
The levee failures during Hurricane Katrina are still fresh in the American mind. Homeland Security's Wil Laska wants to make sure that if we cannot completely prevent levee breaches, we have a fast remedy for when they DO occur.
Scientists and Web developers at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) have created a new educational Web site with crucial tips on how to prepare for and survive a tsunami. Tagged as “an interactive guide that could save your life,” the site also features the latest tsunami-related science research and compelling tsunami survivor videos and interviews.
Community-based education and awareness programs minimized the death toll from the recent Samoan tsunami, according to a team of researchers that traveled to Samoa last month. Funded by a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant, the team collected data to document the impacts of the earthquake and ensuing tsunami that occurred on Sept. 29.
In Bangladesh cholera epidemics occur twice a year. Scientists have tried, without success, to determine the causes – and advance early detection and prevention efforts. Researchers from Tufts University have proposed a link between cholera and fluctuating water levels in the region's three principal rivers – the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna.
For the first time, a group of scientists working in the Kuril Islands off the east coast of Russia has documented the scope of tsunami-caused erosion and found that a wave can carry away far more sand and dirt than it deposits.
New geo-archaeological research at the University of Haifa concludes that tsunami waves are reasonably likely to strike Israel. The study, carried out by Dr. Beverly N. Goodman, exposes evidence of four tsunami events on the coast of Caesarea.
American Society of Civil Engineers sends post-disaster assessment team to review coast and lifeline system performance.
“Geology of the Pacific NW makes an earthquake-triggered tsunami inevitable and imminent in geologic time,” says Yumei Wang, geotechnical engineer at the Oregon Dept. of Geology and Mineral Industries, “yet coastal towns in the northwest are woefully unprepared for such a large-scale natural disaster.”
Philip Liu, Cornell professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, is an expert on tsunamis, ocean waves and their impact on coastlines. He led the NSF-sponsored group of U.S. scientists who investigated the aftermath of the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
Individuals and businesses who experienced the flood of 2007 in Findlay, Ohio, are sharing many lessons learned from the experience to help other communities who will face flooding in the future.
Following on the heels of environmental tragedies in China and Myanmar, the past week has brought dramatic coverage of the rising banks of the Mississippi river, and the frantic efforts of residents and volunteers to protect their homes and towns from flooding. With the country anxiously waiting to see whether sandbag barricades will hold the flooding at bay, former congressman and environmental disaster recovery experts C. Thomas McMillen and Christopher P. Leichtweis are available to speak on preventative efforts and the best course of action in the weeks ahead.
A report by Iowa State University's Regional Capacity Analysis Program how the economic impact of this year's flooding across Iowa will be calculated. Once all of the official losses are reported, ISU economists say the total may approach or exceed the $1.45 billion in losses to crops, livestock, and personal property/income reported in the state's 1993 floods.
Public health expert is available to talk about safety precautions for volunteers and homeowners, as well as the long-term implications of the flood.
As if the emotional and financial impact of flood damage isn't bad enough, floodwaters can also bring health problems. H. James Wedner, M.D., professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Allergy and Immunology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, says after the water recedes, damp homes and businesses are fertile grounds for mold growth, which can cause allergic reactions and asthmatic symptoms in sensitive people.
Iowa State University faculty and staff members are available to share their insight and expertise on numerous flood-related topics as the devastating Midwest flooding continues this week along the Mississippi River.
The past is no longer a reliable base on which to plan the future of water management. So says a new perspectives piece written by a prominent group of hydrologists and climatologists, to be published Feb. 1 in Science magazine, that calls for fundamental changes to the science behind water planning and policy.
Flooding in California's Central Valley is "the next big disaster waiting to happen," but water-related infrastructure issues confront almost every community across the country, according to engineers at the University of Maryland's Clark School of Engineering in separate reports to California officials and in the journal Science.
Central Michigan University faculty expert Elizabeth Alm (department of biology) is available to comment on the presence of E. coli in the Hurricane Katrina flood waters in New Orleans.
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