UNC faculty experts can help
reporters
with hurricane-related issues as Emily advances
As Katrina spins and churns through the eastern United
States, University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill faculty members are available
to discuss hurricane-related topics.
Note: The area code for all is 919 unless otherwise
indicated.
Dr. Peter Robinson,
professor of geography in UNC’s
College
of
Arts
and Sciences, also studies weather. Two years ago, after analyzing a century’s
worth of weather data across
North Carolina
, he concluded that the most intense hurricanes to strike the state were not
associated with the worst flooding. Instead, they resulted from lingering
tropical storms, back-to-back storms and even melting snow. UNC Press will
publish his latest book, North Carolina Weather and Climate, this fall. In the
1970s, Robinson was
North Carolina
’s state climatologist. He can be reached at 962-3875 (office) or 280-9710
(home).
Photo and more info
on Robinson: https://www-s4.ais.unc.edu/UNCExperts/uncexperts/getperson?ID=RCERDDCFE
Dr. Charles E.
Konrad, associate professor of geography, studies climate, including
hurricanes. He is especially interested in the relationship between
atmospheric patterns such as circulation and moisture and weather events such
as heavy rainfall, snowstorms, tornadoes and high winds. His work, which
focuses on scales ranging from planetary events to local conditions, can be
applied to weather forecasting. He can be reached at 962-3873 (office) or
380-1695 (home).
Photo and more info
on Konrad: https://www-s4.ais.unc.edu/UNCExperts/uncexperts/getperson?ID=RFVCXDDFE
Dr. Hans Paerl,
William R. Kenan professor at UNC’s
Institute
of
Marine Sciences
, studies the water quality and ecological ramifications of climatic
disturbances, including hurricanes, on estuaries and coastal waters. He leads
the UNC Institute of Marine Sciences’ Microbial Ecology-Nutrient Cycling
Laboratory. Paerl has directed several studies to examine the short- and
longer-term effects of hurricanes Dennis, Floyd and Irene on N.C. estuaries
and the
Pamlico Sound
-- the nation’s second largest estuary -- using ferries to conduct water
quality monitoring (www.ferrymon.org.). He also heads a National Science
Foundation Microbial Observatory study on long-term climatic effects on the
microbial ecology and overall condition of lakes on
San Salvador Island
,
Bahamas
, which is located on the Atlantic "hurricane track" and was
devastated last September by Hurricane
Frances
. He can be reached at (252) 723-9082 (cell) or hpaerl@email.unc.edu.
More info on Paerl:
https://www-s4.ais.unc.edu/UNCExperts/uncexperts/getperson?ID=RXSTRDXFE
Dr. Margaret S.
Miles, professor at UNC’s
School
of
Nursing
, has extensive experience studying and dealing with the mental health of
natural disaster survivors and grief associated with the loss of family
members. She participated as a volunteer in helping citizens of
Grifton
,
N.C.
, following Hurricane Floyd in 1999 and earlier was involved during the rescue
operation of the Hyatt Hotel collapse in
Kansas City
and in the mental health follow-up among survivors. She can speak about the
three phases of disaster -- pre-impact, impact and post-impact -- and how to
help survivors cope with their resulting psychological reaction, including
disillusionment in having lost an old way of life and reconstruction in moving
forward. Contact her at 618-0086 or mmiles@email.unc.edu.
David J. Brower,
research professor in UNC’s department of city and regional planning,
researches growth management, coastal zone management, mitigating the impacts
of natural hazards, sustainable development and environmental ethics. Besides
research and teaching, Brower has worked extensively with local governments
(especially on N.C.’s Outer Banks), and state and international governments,
including
Caribbean
nations. He is co-author of "Catastrophic Coastal Storms: Hazard
Mitigation and Development Management." He can be reached at 962-4775 or brower@email.unc.edu.
More info on
Brower: https://www-s4.ais.unc.edu/UNCExperts/uncexperts/getperson?ID=RRTRWDRFE
Dr. Seth Reice,
associate professor of biology, is the author of "The Silver Lining: The
Benefits of Natural Disasters," which details how storms, volcanoes,
earthquakes, floods and other apparently catastrophic events renew life and
boost diversity in ecosystems throughout the world, often making them better
for people and other species. His research has focused on streams and the
effect of natural disturbances on environments viewed as stable. Contact him
at 962-1375 or sreice@bio.unc.edu.
Photo and more info
on Reice: https://www-s4.ais.unc.edu/UNCExperts/uncexperts/getperson?ID=RXSVFDWFE
Dr. John Thomas
Cooper Jr. is an associate at MDC Inc., an independent nonprofit research
organization based in
Chapel Hill
, and manager of the Emergency Preparedness Demonstration Program (EPD), a new
$1.5 million initiative of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to
increase disaster awareness and preparedness in disadvantaged areas. The
EPD is being conducted through a partnership among FEMA, MDC and the Center
for Urban and Regional Studies at UNC. A news release on the program can be
found at: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/jul05/fema071105.htm.
Cooper, who received his doctorate in city and regional planning from UNC in
2004, has researched how the disadvantaged are accounted for in emergency
management and has taught a course on disasters’ social impacts. He
worked with the N.C. Division of Emergency Management on the Princeville,
N.C., Redevelopment Plan, commissioned by President Bill Clinton’s
Council on the Future of Princeville following Hurricane Floyd in
1999. He can be reached at 968-4531 or jcooper@mdcinc.org.
Joanne Caye,
assistant clinical professor in the
School
of
Social Work
, has taught classes on managing the effects of disasters on families and
children. Additionally, she teaches students who plan to go into social
work about how to help families and children deal with disasters and conflict.
She is the co-author of a book titled "When Their World Falls Apart:
Helping Families and Children Manage the Effects of Disasters." She and
colleagues conducted workshops in eastern
North Carolina
after Hurricane Floyd on coping with disasters and tragedy. Contact info:
jscaye@email.unc.edu
or 962-3598.
Photo and more info
on Caye: https://www-s4.ais.unc.edu/UNCExperts/uncexperts/getperson?ID=RXSVVSSFF
Dr. James Fraser,
urban geographer and senior research associate with UNC’s Center for Urban
and Regional Studies, is principal investigator for a project,
"Relocation and Decision-making of Natural Disaster Victims," which
centers on buyout programs through which states purchase flood-prone homes
from willing sellers. One of the issues addressed in the project is why some
homeowners choose to participate in such programs and some don’t. Four
hundred people living in 100-year floodplains in
Kinston
and
Greenville
,
N.C.
,
San Antonio
,
Tex.
, and
Grand Forks
,
N.D.
, were interviewed by phone in one project component. Fraser also is principal
investigator on a national project examining “repetitive loss properties”
that experienced multiple floods and co-PI on another examining disadvantaged
communities and disaster preparedness. He can be reached at 962-6835.
Photo and more info
on Fraser: https://www-s4.ais.unc.edu/UNCExperts/uncexperts/getperson?ID=REWDSDSFX
Dr. Laurence B.
Rosenfeld, professor of communication studies, is an expert on
interpersonal and family communication. He is a nationally certified trainer
of "helpers" -- people who go in after disasters to help victims
like those who responded following Hurricane Floyd. He also has written a book
on helping people manage disasters’ effects. Call him at 962-4947.
More info on
Rosenfeld: https://www-s4.ais.unc.edu/UNCExperts/uncexperts/getperson?ID=RXRSXDWFE
Jennifer Horney,
assistant director of the
N.C.
Center
for Public Health Preparedness, was involved in the response to hurricanes
Isabel (2003) and Charley (2004), taking part in the rapid needs assessment
following landfall and managing the center's Team Epi-Aid. This student
volunteer group has also participated in the response to these hurricanes, as
well as to a number of other public health emergencies statewide. The N.C.
Center for Public Health Preparedness, housed in the UNC School of Public
Health’s N.C. Institute of Public Health and department of epidemiology, is
one of 20-plus such centers located at schools of public health nationwide.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention funds the centers. Horney
can be reached at 843-5566 (office), 260-6204 (cell) and 932-9458 (home).
-30-
News Services
contacts: David Williamson, 962-8596, and Deborah Saine, 962-8415
