In the middle of a particularly intense period of the 2008 hurricane season" officials gathered at the Carolina Inn on Tuesday to launch a natural disaster research center at UNC.The Center of Excellence for the Study of Natural Disasters"" Coastal Infrastructure and Emergency Management is one of 13 such centers funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The centers focus academic research on key challenges to national security.
""One of the things higher education can do is show that we are focused on the great problems of our time"" Chancellor Holden Thorp said at the ceremony.
Climate change presents a growing challenge to North Carolina coastlines, Thorp said when explaining his support of the center, which UNC competed against scores of universities to host.
As our vulnerability continues to rise" the importance of the center grows more dear" he said.
The center will team up with Jackson State University in Jackson, Miss., and other institutions. It will receive $2.5 million from DHS annually for six years, after which the University will have to reapply to host the center for another six years.
We believe we have invested very wisely in UNC"" said DHS Undersecretary Jay Cohen.
U.S. Rep. David Price, D-N.C., chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, was also present at the ceremony. As chairman, Price played a key role in securing funds for the centers, including the UNC center located in his own district.
Price referenced Hurricanes Fran, Floyd and Isabel in emphasizing the state's familiarity with natural disasters and therefore its qualifications for hosting the center.
Between 1980 and 2004, North Carolina experienced more billion-dollar disasters than any other state.
By focusing on terrorist prevention and response" there's been a de-emphasis on natural disaster response and that needs to change Price said in regard to DHS.
The department simply must rise to this challenge" and this research program will help us do that.""
Research will focus on better prediction models for the strength and size of hurricanes and coastal engineering such as levees and dikes" said Rick Leuttich" a UNC marine sciences professor
Leuttich will be the chief research investigator for the center. He is nationally recognized for his work in evaluating the vulnerability of the New Orleans area following Hurricane Katrina.
""If Gustav had been 30 miles east" would we have had another Katrina? Probably" he said, when explaining the need to fill the gaps in research.
Additional research will focus on why people move to coastal regions in the first place and how they respond to emergency situations.
I am keen and interested in linking research to practice"" said Gavin Smith, who will direct the center and headed Mississippi's Katrina recovery in 2005.
Disasters are about people and communities. It's not just about the ability to do research.""
Contact the State & National Desk at stntdesk@unc.edu.
