Natural Disasters

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

  • Media Advisory: UB Expert Available to Discuss East Coast Earthquake
    8/23/11
    Andre Filiatrault, PhD, director of the Âé¶¹´«Ã½o's MCEER (Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research), will be available to discuss the magnitude 5.8 earthquake that struck south of Washington DC and affected cities all along the eastern seaboard.
  • East Coast Earthquake was Moderate but Significant, says UB Earthquake Researcher
    8/23/11
    "The earthquake was moderate but significant because we haven't had very many earthquakes of this magnitude in the eastern United States or eastern Canada," said Andre Filiatrault, PhD, director of the Âé¶¹´«Ã½o's MCEER (Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research).
  • 'Hacktivist' Groups Like 'Anonymous' are not the Biggest Threat to Cybersecurity, says UB Information Assurance Expert
    8/15/11
    UB Professor Shambhu Upadhyaya teaches and conducts research in the area of computer security. With hacker collectives carrying out high-profile cyber attacks -- most recently claiming to have stolen a large trove of data including personal information from U.S. law enforcement agencies -- Upadhyaya comments on how much of a threat these groups really pose to cybersecurity.
  • Fast-Shrinking Greenland Glacier Experienced Rapid Growth During Cooler Times
    7/14/11
    Large, marine-calving glaciers have the ability not only to shrink rapidly in response to global warming, but to grow at a remarkable pace during periods of global cooling, according to Âé¶¹´«Ã½o geologists working in Greenland.
  • Be Still My Eyebrows: Researchers Say Liars Can't Completely Suppress Facial Expressions
    7/13/11
    Mark Frank has spent two decades studying the faces of people lying when in high-stakes situations and has good news for security experts. "Executing Facial Control During Deception Situations," a new study he co-authored with former graduate student Carolyn M. Hurley, PhD, reports that although liars can reduce facial actions when under scrutiny, they can't suppress them all.
  • UB to Hold Workshop on Methods for Analyzing Probabilities of Volcanic Hazards
    5/12/11
    The Âé¶¹´«Ã½o will host the international workshop "Probabilistic Analysis of Volcanic Hazards" on May 16-19. Conference participants will include geologists, volcanologists and statisticians from several nations, who will consider current methodologies used in the analysis of volcanic hazards, including probability, randomness and statistical measures, in order to help define priorities for future research.
  • In an Extreme Year, Extreme Events Researchers Gather at Quake Summit 2011 to Discuss Resilience Against Earthquakes, Multiple Hazards
    5/5/11
    The 2011 earthquakes that struck New Zealand and Japan, research on improving nuclear power plant design, earthquake engineering research in the U.S. in the next quarter century and improving resilience of buildings, bridges and critical infrastructure are all on the agenda at Quake Summit 2011, Earthquake & Multi-Hazards Resilience: Progress and Challenges, in Buffalo, NY, June 9-11.
  • Sustainable Transportation is Focus of IBM Grant Won by UB Professor
    5/5/11
    Each year, American drivers waste an estimated 3.7 billion hours, or the equivalent of five days, sitting in traffic, burning 2.3 billion gallons of fuel. Students at the Âé¶¹´«Ã½o will soon be learning how to reduce that waste, creating less congestion and cleaner air, thanks to an IBM grant to Adel Sadek, PhD, UB associate professor of civil, structural and environmental engineering.
  • ASCE Awards UB's Reinhorn with the 2011 Nathan M. Newmark Medal
    5/3/11
    The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has chosen Andrei M. Reinhorn, PhD, Clifford C. Furnas Professor of Structural Engineering at the Âé¶¹´«Ã½o, to receive the 2011 Nathan M. Newmark Medal.
  • Avoiding Outer-Space Collisions Is Focus of Air Force-Funded Research by UB's Puneet Singla
    4/21/11
    Puneet Singla, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the Âé¶¹´«Ã½o, was recently chosen to receive a prestigious Air Force Office of Scientific Research award to develop more robust mathematical models to assess space situational awareness. The highly competitive Young Investigators Research Program award will fund Singla's research into "Information Collection and Fusion for Space Situational Awareness."