Natural Hazards Observer
| November 2004 | Volume XXIX | Number 2 |
Below are descriptions of recently awarded contracts and grants related to hazards and disasters. An inventory of awards from 1995 to the present is available at http://www.colorado.edu/hazards/resources/grants/.
IT-Based Collaboration Framework for Preparing against, Responding to, and Recovering from Disasters Involving Critical Physical Infrastructures. Funding: National Science Foundation. Five years. Principal Investigators: Feniosky Peña-Mora, Gene E. Robinson, Indranil Gupta, Noshir S. Contractor, and Andrea B. Hollingshead. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 801 South Wright Street, Champaign, IL 61820; (217) 333-2186; e-mail: feniosky@uiuc.edu. The objective of this project is to develop and test a conceptual framework designed to reduce uncertainty and improve collaboration among the key actors involved in three phases of first response: preparation, response, and recovery. The interdisciplinary research team will examine the technological and social processes of collaboration from multiple viewpoints, each of which will be represented in the framework. This project aims to advance theory, research, and practice regarding efficient and effective first response by, among other things, focusing on collaboration in chaotic, volatile, and complex disaster relief environments requiring interaction among both stationary and mobile users and among users and technological devices such as sensors and communication media.
Evaluation of Ground Rupture Effects on Critical Lifelines. Funding: National Science Foundation. Four years. Principal Investigators: Thomas D. O’Rourke, Harry E. Stewart, Michael Symans, Kathleen Kraft, and Michael J. O’Rourke, Cornell University, Office of Sponsored Programs, Ithaca, NY 14853; (607) 255-5014; e-mail: tdo1@cornell.edu. This research addresses the effects of large differential ground deformation on buried pipeline and conduit performance as they relate to the safety and reliability of critical infrastructure. Investigators will use state-of-the-art modeling and quantification of earthquake-induced ground movement to study the effects that such movement, as well as landslides, mining, extraction of subsurface fluids, and underground construction, can have on lifelines. Research investments will be leveraged into improved practices for water, electric power, gas and liquid fuel, telecommunication, transportation, and wastewater conveyance. A substantial collaboration with industry will ensure that the results provide maximum impact in practice, continuing education of the U.S. workforce, and implementation of infrastructure projects nationwide.
Integrating Risk Analysis and Risk Communication. Funding: National Science Foundation. Three years. Principal Invesigators: Baruch Fischhoff, Julie S. Downs, H. Keith Florig, and Elizabeth A. Casman, Carnegie Mellon University, 5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213; (412) 268-8746; e-mail: bf0r@andrew.cmu.edu. This project will pursue behaviorally realistic risk analysis in the context of three relatively unrelated risks: radiological emergencies, adolescents’ safety and violence, and animal vectors spreading disease to humans. In addressing these issues, investigators will develop and apply the emerging methodology of integrated assessment to include the social, behavioral, and economic sciences. They will then document their methodology to facilitate its use by researchers doing similar work in other risk domains. The project will conclude with a workshop designed to enable and encourage attendees to begin their own interdisciplinary collaborations.
Computer-Assisted Interpretation of Citizen Input in Rebuilding Lower Manhattan. Funding: National Science Foundation. One year. Principal Investigators: Javed Mostafa. Indiana University, P.O. Box 1847, Bloomington, IN 47402; (812) 855-0516; e-mail: jm@indiana.edu; and David C. Stark, Columbia University, 1210 Amsterdam Avenue, MC 2205, New York, NY 10027; (212) 854-6851; e-mail: dcs36@columbia.edu. This collaborative research project will use an extensive digital archive of oral statements regarding the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan to test various strategies of computer-assisted interpretation. Computer-mediated communication offers new channels for citizens to express their views to elected officials and government agencies. The often overwhelming number of comments can pose technical and political challenges. This project seeks to help overcome these challenges by addressing how officials and agencies can make sense of large-scale citizen input and how meaningful patterns can be efficiently and effectively identified. By doing so, it will contribute to advancing the understanding of the opportunities and limitations of computer-assisted interpretation.
U.S.-China Cooperative Research in Integrated Health Monitoring with Emphasis on Earthquake and Natural Hazard Applications. Funding: National Science Foundation. Three years. Principal Investigator: Ming-Liang Wang. University of Illinois at Chicago, 1737 West Polk Street, Chicago, IL 60612; (312) 996-7000; e-mail: mlwang@uic.edu. The U.S.-China Joint Task Force funded by this grant plans to develop an integrated structural health monitoring program to improve structural reliability and longevity, enhance system performance, and strengthen safety against natural hazards, such as earthquakes, as well as human-caused events. The project will combine the sensor technology developed by the U.S. with China’s methods for using the sensor technology to monitor real structures. It will also facilitate technology transfer and involve industry and governmental agencies active in integrated health monitoring.
Medical Response to Terrorist Attacks and Other Diseases. Funding: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. $100,000, six months. Principal Investigator: Michael A. Grasso. Segue Corporation, 8265 Hammond Branch Way, Laurel, MD 20723; e-mail: mikegrasso@umbc.edu. The purpose of this project is to create a communication network for an emergency department to effectively mobilize and utilize medical personnel during a terrorist attack or other disaster. In conjunction with a disaster plan, the investigator proposes using wireless-enabled handheld computers plus several redundant wireless protocols for reliable and portable communication to alert medical personnel in the event of a large-scale emergency. The same system will be able to provide additional communications and data functions throughout the response.
Sensor-Based Real-Time Feedback Control Evacuation Strategies for Buildings in Emergencies. Funding: National Science Foundation. Two years. Principal Investigators: Mahendra P. Singh, Scott Geller, and Pushkin Kachroo. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 460 Turner Street, Suite 306, Blacksburg, VA 24060; (540) 231-5281; e-mail: mpsingh@vt.edu. This project will develop a sensor-based, real-time feedback control scheme for time-optimal and safe evacuation of people from large complexes in an emergency. The scheme will be constructed so that sensor-collected data will be interpreted, used, and synthesized to formulate a feedback control command to be delivered through strategically located speakers, television monitors, or lighted displays so that people can be quickly and effectively guided to safety.
Simple Indices of Climate Variability and Change. Funding: National Science Foundation. One year. Principal Investigator: David J. Karoly. University of Oklahoma, 731 Elm Avenue, Room 134, Norman, OK 73019; (405) 325-4757; e-mail: dkaroly@ou.edu. Five simple indices of large-scale surface temperature variations will be used in this study to assess the performance of climate models in simulating climate variability and change during the twentieth century. These indices will be calculated globally and for the North American region from observational data for the period 1880-2003 and compared with data from model simulations from this same period. The purpose of the study is to provide greater confidence in the use of models for climate change detection and attribution studies and for projection of future climate change.
The Sociocultural Dynamics of Risk Perception. Funding: National Science Foundation. One year. Principal Investigators: Anthony A. Leiserowitz and Paul Slovic, Decision Science Research Institute, 1201 Oak Street, Eugene, OR 97401; (541) 485-2400; e-mail: ecotone@uoregon.edu. As part of a broader program to understand the sociocultural dynamics of risk perception, decision making, and behavior, this exploratory project aims to identify, describe, and explain the existence of discrete “interpretive communities of risk,” clusters of individuals who share mutually compatible risk perceptions, affective imagery, cultural worldviews, and sociodemographic characteristics. Results from this study will contribute to emerging theory on the role these characteristics play in risk perception and decision making.
Physical Modeling of 3D Tsunami Evolution Using a Landslide Tsunami Generator. Funding: National Science Foundation. Three years. Principal Investigators: Hermann M. Fritz, Alexander M. Puzrin, and Leonid N. Germanovich, Georgia Tech Research Corporation, 505 10th Street, Atlanta, GA 30332; (404) 385-0866; e-mail: hermann.fritz@gtrep.gatech.edu. While some tsunamis are triggered directly by seismic impact, others are the result of massive submarine landslides. The long-term goal of this project is to develop a fundamental understanding of the mechanism of tsunamigenic landslides and subsequent tsunami generation, propagation, and run-up, allowing for improved assessment and possible mitigation of the landslide and tsunami hazard. Investigators aim to compensate for an inadequacy of existing data by the physical modeling of three-dimensional tsunami evolution using a novel landslide tsunami generator to help them achieve this goal.
Place-Based Decision Support and Temporal Transference of Risk and Hazards. Funding: National Science Foundation. Three years. Principal Investigator: John P. Wilson, University of Southern California, University Park, Los Angeles, CA 90089; (213) 740-2934; e-mail: jpwilson@usc.edu. By examining the impacts of hazards and risk on people and the places they live and developing new methods and models for measuring vulnerability (and resilience) to extreme events and chronic risks at the local level, this principal investigator hopes to shed light on the role inequality (geographic, temporal, and social) plays in vulnerability. Project outcomes will include a protocol and tool kit for information gathering as well as knowledge and tools that can be transferred to practitioners, providing a scientific basis for hazards management decision making.
Evaluation of Midlatitude Storm Characteristics and Variability in Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Coupled Models. Funding: National Science Foundation. One year. Principal Investigator: George Tselioudis. Columbia University, 1210 Amsterdam Avenue, MC 2205, New York, NY 10027; (212) 854-6851; e-mail: gtselioudis@giss.nasa.gov. This study will evaluate the ability of coupled climate model historical runs to simulate the spatial characteristics of midlatitude storm tracks, the intensity of midlatitude storms, and the temporal variability of storm tracks at time scales that range from seasonal to decadal. It aims to uncover deficiencies in the modeled representation of midlatitude storm tracks in a changing climate environment and help overcome these deficiencies to improve the quality of future climate and water resources information available to environmental managers and policy makers.
Small Grants Program for Developing Countries
The Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) has developed a grant program to support local efforts, capacity building, and leadership development in the field of earthquake mitigation in the developing world. Earthquake risk reduction is challenging in developing countries due to complex socioeconomic and technical issues and the need to derive effective, locally sensitive solutions.
The grant program will support small projects led by in-country experts. Eligible projects include, but are not limited to, workshops or training programs, seismic code development, developing or translating resource materials, information dissemination, and curriculum development.
Interested individuals must send an initial proposal (via e-mail) that describes the project and explains why EERI should fund it. For complete eligibility requirements and proposal procedure, contact James Godfrey, EERI, 499 14th Street, Suite 320, Oakland, CA 94611; e-mail: jgodfrey@eeri.org; http://www.eeri.org/.
NSF Funds Climate Change Research
Interdisciplinary research teams from Arizona State University, Carnegie Mellon University, Columbia University, University of Colorado at Boulder, and the Rand Corporation will share $25 million from the National Science Foundation (NSF) over five years to study decision making under uncertainty as part of the U.S. Climate Change Research Initiative. Recent research on the causes and consequences of climate change and variability has underscored the need to better understand how decision makers choose among alternative courses of action.
- Decision Center for a Desert City: The Science and Policy of Climate Uncertainty. Using Phoenix, Arizona, as a laboratory, researchers will study adaptation strategies related to water management in an arid climate and experiment with new methods to understand how to make decisions that reduce vulnerability to climate uncertainty. Principal Investigators: Patricia Gober and Grady Gammage, Arizona State University, Box 3503, Tempe, AZ 85287; (480) 965-9011; e-mail: gober@asu.edu.
- Climate and Related Decision Making in the Face of Irreducible Uncertainties. The Climate Decision Making Center will focus on limits to accurate predictions of climate change and its impacts in the broader context of the public policy, economic, and social environments in which decision makers work. Principal Investigator: M. Granger Morgan, Carnegie Mellon University, 5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213; (412) 268-8746; e-mail: granger.morgan@andrew.cmu.edu.
- Individual and Group Decision Making Under Climate Uncertainty. The Center for the Study of Individual and Group Decision Making Under Climate Uncertainty will study decision-making processes on multiple scales, integrating psychological insights with those of other social sciences. Researchers will design and test decision tools, institutional strategies, and educational inventions that will better inform people about the impacts of climate change and response options. Principal Investigators: David Krantz and Kenneth Broad, Columbia University, 1210 Amsterdam Avenue, MC 2205, New York, NY 10027; (212) 854-6851;e-mail: dhk@psych.columbia.edu.
- Science Policy Assessment and Research on Climate (SPARC) for Decision Making Under Uncertainty. In an effort to expand upon available policy options, SPARC will examine decision makers’ expectations about what science can deliver, whether policy makers can use available information, and what information might be useful to them in the future. Principal Investigators: Roger Pielke, Jr. and Daniel Sarewitz, University of Colorado at Boulder, 3100 Marine Street, Room 481, Boulder, CO 80309; (303) 492-6221; e-mail: pielke@cires.colorado.edu.
- Improving Decisions in a Complex and Changing World. This team will conduct fundamental research on different characterizations of uncertainty and develop quantitative tools on decision making. Principal Investigators: Robert Lempert, Anthony Michaels, David Budescu, and Klaus Keller, Rand Corporation, 1700 Main Street, Santa Monica, CA 90407; (310) 393-0411. e-mail: Robert_Lempert@rand.org.