Natural Disasters

News about UB’s research and advocacy in extreme events and disaster response. (see all topics)

Meet an Expert
  • "SnowMan" Software Developed at UB Helps Keep Snow Drifts Off the Road
    1/29/09
    Snow that blows and drifts across roadways has long troubled road maintenance crews and commuters alike, creating treacherous driving conditions and requiring additional maintenance resources to mitigate the problem. Now, a Â鶹´«Ã½o engineer has led the development of "SnowMan," a user-friendly, desktop software package that puts cost-effective solutions to the snow drift problem at the fingertips of highway designers and road maintenance personnel.
  • Pakistani Professors Train in Earthquake Engineering Techniques
    10/31/08
    News of any earthquake spreads quickly among the dozens of earthquake engineering researchers and students at the Â鶹´«Ã½o. But Wednesday's magnitude 6.4 quake in southwest Pakistan held particular interest for two researchers visiting UB and MCEER this semester from Pakistan's NWFP University of Engineering and Technology in Peshawar.
  • New Transportation Engineering Emphasis at UB Will Address New York State Systems, Infrastructure
    10/17/08
    A new transportation research specialization at the Â鶹´«Ã½o School of Engineering and Applied Sciences will provide New York State's government agencies and municipalities with access to innovative technologies and systems that address critical transportation issues facing the region and the nation.
  • Filiatrault Elected MCEER Director
    10/14/08
    Andre Filiatrault, Ph.D., Eng., a professor at the Â鶹´«Ã½o and leading expert on shake-table testing of structural and nonstructural building components, has been elected to a two-year term as director of MCEER, a national center of excellence focused on multi-hazard engineering, headquartered at UB.
  • Emergency Evacuation Plans in Upstate New York Inadequate, Says Expert
    9/22/08
    In the case of an extreme event or disaster, many areas in upstate New York are ill prepared for a large-scale evacuation of people who don't own personal vehicles, says a Â鶹´«Ã½o transportation and evacuation expert.
  • Uncertainty Analysis Is Key to Predicting Severity of Floods, Sedimentation
    9/3/08
    People who live in flood-prone areas naturally aren't thrilled about the uncertainty they must cope with each hurricane season, but research conducted by a Â鶹´«Ã½o engineer is based on the idea that a better understanding of this uncertainty is key to helping mitigate damage from floods.
  • Expert: Gustav Evacuations and Planning Going Well
    8/31/08
    So far, reports from the field suggest that the mandatory evacuation of New Orleans in advance of Hurricane Gustav is proceeding in a reasonable manner, says a Â鶹´«Ã½o researcher who spent eight days in New Orleans in 2005 studying evacuation plans and decision making in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
  • Quake Research to Provide Rare Glimpse of How Structures Collapse
    6/4/08
    Structural engineers at the Â鶹´«Ã½o are conducting some of the most comprehensive experiments ever attempted to develop methods of evaluating and designing steel buildings so that they will be less vulnerable to collapse during strong earthquakes.
  • Disasters in Small Communities: Researchers Discuss How They Can Help
    3/21/08
    Whether it's springtime flooding, an infectious disease outbreak or a volcanic eruption, small or rural communities affected by natural disasters often suffer additional hardship because of their size, say organizers of "Natural Disasters in Small Communities: How Can We Help?" a conference to be held by the Â鶹´«Ã½o on March 29 and 30.
  • UB's BioBlower Closer to Protecting Soldiers from Biological Attack
    2/28/08
    A powerful air sterilization technology developed at the Â鶹´«Ã½o has killed every biological agent with which it has been challenged, including airborne spores, viruses and bacteria in independent tests conducted for the U.S. Department of Defense.