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For printable image click here. Students participating in this summer’s Research Experience for Undergraduates sponsored by UD’s Disaster Research Center are (front, from left) Maritza Loaiza and Nicole Brown; (middle, from left) Kiristy Duhamel, Sandra Olarte-Hayes, Susannah Rowe, program co-coordinator Michelle Moses, Danielle Turner, Sally Baker; and (back, from left) Derrick Beasley, Kate Mallula and Deon Pfenning. UD photo by Lane McLaughlin

How society prepares, acts and responds to disasters, from tornadoes to terror-related events, are among the issues being addressed by 10 students from colleges and universities from different regions of the U.S., Canada and Costa Rica, who have been selected to participate in a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) sponsored by UD's Disaster Research Center (DRC).

The students learn about disaster research within a social science context and carry out individual projects in the field during nine intensive week on campus. The program is highly competitive, and the students are among the best in the social sciences and other related fields, Havid‡n Rodr’guez, vice provost for academic affairs and international programs, said. As former DRC director, he initiated DRC's REU in conjunction with Joanne Nigg, professor of sociology and former director of DRC.

Funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Department of Defense and the University, the program has been highly successful for the past three years, and has received additional funding for another three years with a grant of $268,808, with matching funds of $75,000 from UD's Office of the Provost and the College of Arts and Sciences. Rodr’guez is the current principal investigator, and Nigg is principal investigator for the upcoming grant.

The students begin by getting a thorough grounding in the basics of the methodology used in studying disasters and hazards, the social science approach to understanding the causes and consequences of disasters and the ethical implications of dealing directly with people in a disaster situation.

The students present their topics for approval and then conduct research and write a brief paper this summer. The following year, under the guidance of their faculty advisers at UD and in their home school, they will write a longer paper, which they are encouraged to present and will become part of DRC's archives.

There are many other activities for students. Outside speakers come from the Red Cross and other organizations. The students attended a National Academy of Sciences Disaster Roundtable in Washington, D.C., and are scheduled to visit the site of the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center on a trip to New York.

One of the highlights of their summer experience, Rodr’guez said, is an all expenses paid four-day trip to the annual Hazards Research and Applications Workshop in Colorado, where they can meet and interact with researchers, faculty and practitioners in disaster research.

Media contact: Martin Mbugua, (302) 831-8749, [mbugua@udel.edu]
July 24, 2007