UCSD
Experts Available to
Comment on Hurricane Season
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.