UC San Diego Hurricane Experts

October 1, 2008

Hurricanes and Climate Change

RICHARD SOMERVILLE: Richard Somerville is distinguished professor at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego. His research interests are in atmospheric and environmental science, particularly climate theory and numerical weather prediction. He is a general expert on global climate change and is a specialist in computer modeling of the climate system. Somerville has presented testimony before the U.S. Congress, has briefed U.N. climate change negotiators and has advised federal agencies on research, education and outreach.

Somerville can be contacted through Scripps Communications at scrippsnews@ucsd.edu or 858-534-3624.

Inside Hurricane Processes

KEN MELVILLE: A scientist who studies air-sea interactions, Melville is a professor of physical oceanography at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego. Researchers in his group use a variety of laboratory and field experiments, and theoretical models, to study processes at the ocean surface, including surface waves in high winds and hurricanes, and related phenomena. See the video "Waves Across the Boundary" at http://explorations.ucsd.edu/video2005

To reach Melville, contact Scripps Communications at scrippsnews@ucsd.edu or 858-534-3624.

Disaster Response Management

CHAITAN BARU leads data-intensive computing at the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC), an organized research unit of UC San Diego. One aspect of Baru’s work is disaster response management, specifically handling the mass amount of missing person data and developing software for easier amalgamation, access and retrieval.  Baru’s team collaborated with the American Red Cross and other rescue organizations to make it easier for persons to locate missing loved ones in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. SDSC created an amalgamated list containing thousands of names from a number of individual data searches that sprung up since the disaster occurred.

Baru can be contacted through SDSC Communications at greg@sdsc.edu or 858-534-8314.

DR. IRVING "JAKE" JACOBY, UCSD Clinical Professor of Emergency Medicine, is commander of the UCSD-sponsored Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT San Diego CA-4). Jacoby is one of the co-authors of a new book “Disaster Medicine” which offers comprehensive and succinct guidance on the preparation, assessment, and management of a full range of disasters. Jacoby’s DMAT team was deployed to New Orleans to set up in the Louis Armstrong International Airport to provide medical assistance in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. He. has been routinely involved with regional, state and national efforts in preparedness and response including the National Disaster Medical System which, is under the Federal Government’s Disaster Response Plan. In addition to the Hurricane Katrina DMAT deployment, Jacoby has led medical response teams to numerous disasters, including the Super Typhoon Pongsona in Guam.

Jacoby can be contacted through Health Sciences Communications at 619-543-6163, or e-mailing ecallahan@ucsd.edu (after hours page 619-290-2688)

RAMESH RAO is a principal investigator on three UC San Diego projects that are harnessing cutting-edge wireless technologies to improve communication among first responders and emergency officials in the event of a hurricane or other natural and man-made disasters. Rao is a professor of electrical engineering and director of the UCSD division of the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2), and leads its disaster-response efforts jointly with Calit2's other member campus, UC Irvine. The largest such project is RESCUE (Responding to Crises and Unexpected Events), funded with $12 million from the National Science Foundation, to "radically transform the ability of responding organizations to gather, manage, use, and disseminate information within emergency response networks and to the general public." In a parallel effort funded by NIH's National Library of Medicine, Rao is developing a Wireless Internet Information System for Medical Response in Disasters (WIISARD) jointly with the UCSD School of Medicine. WIISARD is developing wireless and other technologies to improve medical response times and patient outcomes in the wake of a natural disaster that affects the health of its victms, including systems to track and monitor the health of victims and first responders from the disaster site to the emergency room and beyond. In these and related projects Rao works closely with community partners, including emergency-response agencies, to test new technologies in the field and deploy wireless infrastructure for use in ongoing disaster drills.

Rao can be contacted through Calit2 Communications at dramsey@ucsd.edu or 858-822-5825

THERESE RYMER, a nurse practioner, is director of Emergency Preparedness and Response for UCSD Medical Center and Deputy Commander of the UCSD-sponsored Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT San Diego CA-4). As deputy commander of DMAT San Diego CA-4, Rymer was deployed to New Orleans to provide immediate care at the Katrina disaster shelter in the Louis Armstrong International Airport. She has participated in numerous deployments including several hurricanes, the Northridge Earthquake, and Ground Zero in New York City following the attackes of September 11, 2001. Rymer is in expert on developing and coordinating hospital and regional disaster plans, leading preparedness efforts to position hospitals and communities to respond to natural disasters such as hurricanes and earthquakes, as well as the potential for manmade disasters and pandemics. She serves as a UCSD Medical Center’s liaison in emergency preparedness activities regionally and statewide.

Rymer can be contacted through Health Sciences Communications at 619-543-6163, or e-mailing ecallahan@ucsd.edu (after hours page 619-290-2688)

Effects on Energy Supplies

JAMES D. HAMILTON: An expert on oil shocks, James Hamilton is a professor of economics at the University of California, San Diego. Hamilton can assess the consequences of hurricane damage on energy supplies, the loss of refineries and their effects on local gas markets, as well as the contribution of the storm to the chances of a national recession. Some of Hamilton’s thoughts on the hurricane’s aftermath can be read on his blog: http://www.econbrowser.com. Hamilton is at jhamilton@ucsd.edu and 858-534-5986.

For additional assistance, contact Inga Kiderra, University Communications, at ikiderra@ucsd.edu or 858-822-0661.

Economic Damages and Recovery

RICHARD CARSON: Chair of the economics department at the University of California, San Diego and current president of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, Richard Carson specializes in the economic damages of environmental disasters. Perhaps best known for his government work assessing the economic effects of the Exxon Valdez oil spill, Carson is also well-versed in water projects, including levee systems, having served on a National Academy of Sciences planning review committee. Carson is an authority on the consequences of hurricane damage and can aid in understanding recovery issues. He can be reached at rcarson@ucsd.edu and (858) 534-3384.

For additional assistance, contact Inga Kiderra, University Communications, at ikiderra@ucsd.edu or 858-822-0661.

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