| NEWS ARCHIVES |
| $100,000 PhD Fellowship Available |
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The LSU Hurricane Center is searching for an outstanding PhD student for research in the area of storm surge flood modeling, to be awarded a four-year, $100,000 fellowship. The award is available to a full-time PhD student entering Louisiana State University in Summer or Fall 2004. The research will include storm surge modeling techniques and application of model outputs to both mitigation planning and real-time operations/response. The successful applicant will be provided access to storm surge models running on LSU's new supercomputer (second fastest in academia, 11th fastest in the world). It is anticipated that the applicant will enter the PhD program in Civil and Environmental Engineering, Engineering Science, or Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, but students with other majors such as Geography or Applied Math will also be considered assuming they have the appropriate background and capabilities. Applications are being accepted now. Final selection will be made on April 15, 2004. Please contact Dr. Levitan (225/578-4445, levitan@hurricane.lsu.edu) or Dr. van Heerden (225/578-5974, ivor@hurricane.lsu.edu) for more information.
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| The Hurricane Center Has Moved |
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The Center's main offices have moved to more spacious quarters. The new offices are in Suite 3221 CEBA Building, around the corner from the old location (still in the Southwest portion of the building). All phones and fax numbers are now back on line. Room numbers within the Suite are:
The Hurricane Center's newly renovated Modeling/GIS lab is located in room 257 of the Military Science Building. Office locations for Hurricane Center Personnel not housed in CEBA are:
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| LSU Board of Supervisors Recommends Re-approval of LSU Hurricane Center |
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During their late August 2003 meeting, the LSU Board of Supervisors recommended full approval for the renewal of the LSU Hurricane Center. "Since its creation, the center has grown significantly and has become highly regarded as a collaborative research center for the study of hurricanes and their impacts." (LSU Today, 8/29/03). The recommendation now goes before the Louisiana Board of Regents for final approval.
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| Wilmot Makes Presentation at National Academies |
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Dr. Chester Wilmot gave an invited presentation on August 18, 2003, to the National Research Council's Committee on Weather Research for Surface Transportation at the National Academies building in Washington D.C. His presentation discussed opportunities for integration of weather information into transportation projects and systems, with a focus on weather information needs for hurricane evacuations.
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| Congressional Briefing on Tornado Outbreak |
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Marc Levitan was invited by the Congressional Wind Hazard Reduction Caucus to provide a briefing on the May 2003 tornado outbreak in the midwest. Dr. Levitan was part of an NSF-funded team that investigated damage due to one of the largest tornado outbreaks in history. The briefing was held on June 12 in the House Science Committee hearing room.
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| Pine Gives Invited Presentation at the National Academies |
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Dr. John Pine gave an invited presentation at the National Academies' Disaster Roundtable on June 13, 2003. The theme of that Roundtable was on the Emergency Manager of the Future, and his presentation was entitled Research Needs:Emergency Manager of the Future. Dr. Pine heads LSU's Disaster Science and Management academic programs.
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| 2003 DSM Scholarship Winners Announced |
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Congratulations to LSU Disaster Science and Management students Elizabeth St. Romain and Jessica Coleman, who were each awarded $1,000 scholarships by the Louisiana Emergency Preparedness Association. The presentation was made at the 2003 LEPA Workshop in Baton Rouge on April 29. Applications for the next LEPA College Scholarship Program are due March 1, 2004.
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| John Holmes Awarded Professorship to Study Hurricane-Generated Debris |
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Louisiana Sea Grant awarded the Laborde Visiting Professorship to Dr. John D. Holmes, to spend the better part of two years at LSU studying flight mechanics of hurricane-generated debris. His research program will combine theoretical studies with experimental work conducted in the LSU Wind Tunnel Laboratory. Dr. Holmes previously spent a semester with the Hurricane Center working on the NSF-funded Hurricane Engineering curriculum and developing a graduate course on wind loading and structural response. He will teach that course again in Fall 2003.
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| HEF Center Holds Kickoff Meeting |
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The Center for the Study of Public Health Impacts of Hurricanes held a project initiation meeting for investigators and advisory board members in late August. Details
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| National Review of Hurricane Evacuation Plans and Policies |
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The Hurricane Center recently published a report reviewing current evacuation plans, practices, and policies, including decision and command structures, contraflow (reverse laning) design and operations, and ITS (intelligent transportation systems) applications to evacuations. The report is available for download in pdf format (2.5 MB file). A limited number of hard copies are also available free of charge.
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| DSM Program's First Graduate and Scholarship Recipients |
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LSU's undergraduate academic program in Disaster Science and Management (DSM) celebrated two firsts this summer - the first student graduating with a minor in DSM and the first scholarship awards. Details
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| Hurricane Delaney to Strike Louisiana on June 18 |
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The LSU Hurricane Center is developing a comprehensive hurricane exercise for the Louisiana Office of Emergency Preparedness, to be held in their new Emergency Operations Center on June 18, 2002. The objectives of the exercise are to evaluate preparedness levels for the new hurricane season, to test out the new EOC facilities, and to exercise the evacuation decision-making processes. Dr. Kevin Robbins, Director of the Southern Regional Climate Center, is leading the LSU team that will create and conduct the exercise.
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| Health Excellence Fund (HEF) Center Created at Louisiana State University to Study Public Health Impacts of Hurricanes and Major Floods |
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The LSU Hurricane Center was recently awarded a 5-year contract to study the public health impacts of hurricanes and major floods, and to develop strategies to mitigate these effects. The Louisiana Board of Regents funded the program through its highly competitive Millennium Health Excellence Fund (HEF). The project is briefly described here.
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| LSU Professor Leads New TRB Subcommittee on Evacuations |
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Brian Wolshon (Civil and Environmental
Engineering) is chairing the newly formed Transportation Research Board's
Subcommittee on Emergency Evacuations. The subcommittee is having its
inaugural meeting at the TRB Annual Meeting in Washington DC on January
14, 2002. All interested parties are welcome to attend.
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| Coastal and Hurricane Research at LSU |
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A new web page has been created
by the university highlighting all of the faculty on campus involved in
coastal and hurricane research, their areas of specialization, and contact
information. This information is available at
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| LSU Research Featured in Scientific American |
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LSU hurricane and coastal research and faculty are featured in the October 2001 issue of Scientific American, discussing vulnerability of New Orleans to a catastrophic hurricane strike.
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| Seminar on Designing for Extreme Winds |
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The Hurricane
Center is Co-sponsoring a professional development Click here for more details.
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| Hurricane Resistant Landscape |
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Associate
Professor of Landscape Architecture Buck Abbey provides guidance on how
to reduce the vulnerability of landscape to severe storms in
Click here to read the Times-Picayune story
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| Disaster Science and Management Minor Approved and Open for Business |
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The new interdisciplinary Minor in Disaster Science and Management (DSM) was approved last spring and is available for enrollment now. The proposed Concentration in DSM was approved by the LSU Board of Supervisors and is now pending approval at the Louisiana Board of Regents.
Click here to read the official LSU Press Release
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| Center Hosts Visiting Expert in Wind Engineering |
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Dr. John Dean Holmes, one of the leading authorities on Wind Engineering in the world, will spend the Fall 2001 semester at LSU. Prof. Holmes joins us from Monash University in Australia. While here, he will work with the Center on several projects, including the NSF-funded Hurricane Engineering project, and a new project with Jefferson Parish on wind-tunnel testing of mid-rise hospital buildings used as hurricane shelters. Dr. Holmes will also teach a special topics graduate course in Civil Engineering, called "Wind Loading and Structural Response."
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| Chancellor Promotes LSU Hurricane Research |
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One of several radio spots highlighting LSU contributions to the state featured hurricane research. These spots, featuring LSU Chancellor Dr. Mark Emmert, were broadcast statewide on the Louisiana Radio Network this spring. Listen to the Chancellor's Message
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| LSU Receives NSF Award to Develop First-of-its Kind Program in Hurricane Engineering |
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LSU Hurricane Center and the College of Engineering received an award from
the National Science Foundation to develop the first curriculum in the nation
in Hurricane Engineering . For more information , click on the following
links to see the
press release
and the
project summary.
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| Press Conference Kicks off Hurricane Season and the New LSU Hurricane Center |
| Louisiana State University has called a press conference for May 30, 2000, at 11:00 am, to highlight ongoing LSU hurricane research and the new LSU Hurricane Center. In addition to several center faculty, featured speakers include Dr. William Jenkins, LSU System President, and Col. Mike Brown, Assistant Director of the Louisiana Office of Emergency Preparedness (LOEP). Governor Mike Foster, who has been very supportive of the new center, and has also been invited. The press conference will be held in LOEP’s Emergency Operations Center, in the basement of the Department of Natural Resources Building (625 N. Fourth Street, Baton Rouge). |
| LSU Paleotempestology Research Receives in National and International Media Coverage |
Dr. Liu’s paleotempestology research (use of proxy techniques to study millennial-scale variations in hurricane activity) was featured in the latest issue of SCIENCE NEWS (vol. 157, no. 12, p. 333; May 20, 2000). The article can also be viewed online at http://www.sciencenews.org/20000520/bob2.asp He was also interviewed on his work for the BBC "Science in Action" radio program, which was broadcast recently. |
| PhD Fellowships Available for Hurricane-Related Research |
| The LSU Hurricane Center has several fellowships available for students wishing to pursue a PhD, with research emphasis on hurricanes and related hazards (flooding, extreme winds and rainfall, etc). Students may be in any academic department, as long as their research topic is relevant to the mission of the LSU Hurricane Center. Students from geosciences, engineering, behavioral sciences, business/economics, and any other background are welcome to apply. Traditional MS and PhD Research Assistantships are also available in some areas. Please contact Dr. Levitan (225/578-4445) for more information. |
| LSU Design Students Win Award for Hurricane Center Corporate Identity Package |
A team of five students from the LSU School of Art , Graphic Design Senior Class, won a Gold Award at this years Advertising Federation of Greater Baton Rouge ADDY Awards. The students completed this work as part of their Advanced Graphic Design class in December 1999 led by Professor Rod Parker. The team consisted of Andrea Duhon-Anderson, Denise Agnelly, Amber Cancienne, Laura DeBusk, and Mie Moriya. Ms. Cancienne was the team leader; and has been working for the Hurricane Center for the past 6 months further developing the web site and other educational materials. |
| Hurricane Center Assisting Southern Africa Farmers to Recover From Devastating Cyclones |
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Deputy Director
Ivor van Heerden recently returned from South Africa, where he worked with the
sugar cane growers to develop a coastal zone management plan to minimize the
impacts of future cyclones and flooding events. The eastern coast of
southern Africa has been struck hard by several cyclones this year, causing
extensive damage to the rich sugarlands. The plan addresses the needs of
the sugar farmers as well as the adjacent World Heritage Site, the Greater St. Lucia
Wetlands Park.
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| Partnership with LSU Ag Center to Build Disaster-Resistant Demonstration Home |
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The Hurricane
Center has joined forces with the LSU Ag Center on their Louisiana House
Learning Center program. The centerpiece of this project will be a home built
on the campus, which serves as a demonstration showplace, interactive museum,
and learning center for sustainable housing technologies. Intended audiences
are the general public, as well as personnel in the home building industry and
related fields, such real estate, insurance, and mortgage lending, etc. The
home will address crucial technologies such as energy efficiency, termite
resistance, and indoor air hazards, in addition to hazard mitigation.
The Hurricane Center had been working with the Baton Rouge Project Impact leaders on a similar project, although only addressing hazard mitigation issues. This separate effort has now been merged with the Ag Center's project, strengthening both. Seven acres on the main campus, at the corner of Nicholson Drive and Burbank, have been donated by the Ag Center for the project. The target for completion of the Louisiana House Learning Center is 2002. |
| Discovery Channel to Feature WAVCIS Program |
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Greg Stone's WAVCIS (Wave-Current Information System) project will be featured on the Discovery Channel's Discovery News program. The program is scheduled to air on Friday, June 2, 2000, at 9:00 pm Eastern time. Discovery camera crews are currently in the field with Kam-biu Liu, filming an upcoming story on his paleotempestology research. |
| Emergency and Hurricane Preparedness Expo |
The
Baton Rouge Project Impact team and the Baton Rouge Office of Emergency
Preparedness are sponsoring an emergency and preparedness expo. The
expo will feature information on preparedness for
hurricanes, floods, fire, and chemical hazards. The LSU Hurricane
Center will be an event cosponsor. |