Extreme focus for UB research

When people hear the phrase "extreme events," scenes of daring acts from a James Bond movie or perhaps the X-Games come to mind. The extreme events UB is studying, however, bear consequences that are a little more severe than box office sales.

Incidents such as Hurricane Katrina have shown the grave dangers involved not only with disaster, but planning as well. Now, UB hopes to acquire enough research money to construct a Center of Excellence devoted to these studies.

Thanks to Mark Frank, an associate professor heading the project, the Department of Homeland Security has already granted UB $646,000 based on his study that simulates an airport security checkpoint. People are observed as they go through this process to see how they react when they're lying or seem tense and anxious, a system that could help catch terrorists.

Out of 886 universities and organizations competing for federal funding in science and engineering research, UB is ranked at 95th, obtaining $67 million in 2002. A total of $21.4 billion has been distributed to colleges.

In an effort to boost the school's name in the field of research, UB President John B. Simpson outlined extreme events research as a positive focus, and the faculty has named "Extreme Events: Mitigation and Response" one of UB's strategic strengths in UB2020.

Extreme events are not simply just epidemics, but are phenomena that happen quickly and cause extreme danger, according to Ernest Sternberg, a professor of urban and regional planning and a coordinator for the study. These events can either be natural disasters, such as hurricanes and tornados, or man made instances that can include chemical plant explosions and terrorism.

The study poses a main question of how to prepare a city for an extreme event and where money should be spent to achieve this, Sternberg said. The study is not limited to just the actual events, though. Researchers are also interested in the human response when they are under stress, and after a disaster happens. If severe enough, people can suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.

"There are 30 or 40 faculty members here at UB that are working on this study," Sternberg said. "It's not just one concentration, but a multidisciplinary study."

"I don't think it is a single study about extreme events," Frank said. "It is an area of expertise that is being used to study reactions to extreme events, prevention of them, and so forth."

Communication is also a growing concern among researchers. During an extreme event, people need to isolate where the problem is happening and be able to direct others to safety, Sternberg said.

"People try to make decisions all at once and have trouble communicating," he said. "It's a problem people everywhere are recognizing."

After events like Hurricane Katrina, this dilemma was made abundantly clear.

"It's always good to have something on paper," said Jeff Mancil, an urban planning graduate student. "Look at New Orleans, they're asking everyone for help now. It's very important to have a plan. Obviously, cities are at a high risk without one."

Another important issue in these instances is ethics. Choosing who is in charge to make decisions in case of a dangerous occurrence can be a difficult process. The ethics of placing blame also needs to be taken into consideration, Sternberg said.

"I've heard of small towns that have over-trained police officers and well-developed technology in case of a disaster, and then you have huge cities like New Orleans who aren't prepared at all," said Adam LaGrow, a freshman chemistry major. "Obviously, someone somewhere is making bad decisions."

Sternberg challenges students interested in the study of extreme events to take part.

"Students should realize UB is a good place to study this," Sternberg said. "It's distributed over many fields and it is important to encourage multidisciplinary studies."

Preparing for landfall

A timeline of a catastrophe - the relief response to the damage of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita show the need for more preemptive planning and preparedness, categories UB's extreme events research seeks to improve.