DISASTER RESEARCH 411

August 23, 2004

TABLE OF CONTENTS

  1. Quick Response Program Application Period
  2. 2004 Fire Prevention and Safety Grants
  3. Proposals for September 11 Recovery Grant Programs
  4. NSF Update
  5. From a Reader
  6. Mary Fran Myers Scholarship
  7. Mary Fran Myers Award
  8. National Preparedness Month
  9. NEES Training Course Conferences and Training
  10. Jobs, Jobs, Jobs
  11. Some New Web Resources
  12. Conferences and Training

1) Quick Response Program Application Period

Each September, the Hazards Center solicits proposals for Quick Response (QR) Grants. These small grants enable social and behavioral science researchers from the U.S. to conduct short-term studies immediately following a disaster. Grants are intended to cover food, travel, and lodging expenses.

If, during the course of the year, a disaster event matching a preapproved proposal occurs, the grant may be activated. Scholars participating in the program submit reports which are made available to share their findings with the broader hazards community. QR reports are intended to aid the rapid distribution of research findings to both scholars directly involved with hazards research and to the larger circle of interested persons.

For more information about this program, and to find out how to apply, visit http://www.colorado.edu/hazards/qr/, or request a "2005 QR Program Announcement" from Greg Guibert, Natural Hazards Center, University of Colorado, 482 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309-0482; (303) 492-2149; fax: (303) 492-2151; e-mail: greg.guibert@colorado.edu.

The deadline for proposal submission is October 15, 2004.

2) 2004 Fire Prevention and Safety Grants

The application period for the 2004 Fire Prevention and Safety Grants administered U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Office of State and Local Government Coordination and Preparedness (SLGCP) will be open from September 1-30, 2004.

These grants fund projects related specifically to fire prevention. Fire departments, as well as national, regional, state or local organizations with expertise in fire prevention, are eligible to apply. This program is part of the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program to help local fire departments purchase equipment, fund health and safety programs, enhance emergency medical services programs, and conduct fire education and prevention programs.

Information on the 2004 Fire Prevention and Safety Grants is available at http://www.firegrantsupport.com. Applicants can contact program staff at (866) 274-0960; e-mail: firegrants@dhs.gov.

3) Proposals for September 11 Recovery Grant Programs

In consultation with Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, the American Red Cross September 11 Recovery Program has issued the first of several requests for proposals for services assisting the long-term recovery of those directly affected by the events of September 11, 2001.

Applications are invited for the following grant programs: mental health and wellness, and access to recovery services. These grant programs encompass a wide variety of service provider and community-based organization activities and research.

Initial applications are due September 9, 2004. Complete eligibility and program-related information can be found at http://www.recoverygrants.org/. Applicants must be organizations or organizational partners recognized as nonprofits under the Internal Revenue Code. Individuals may not apply directly.

For more information contact the Red Cross Recovery Grant Program; (212) 812-4348; e-mail: info@recoverygrants.org.

4) NSF Update

The Division of Civil and Mechanical Systems (CMS) within the Engineering Directorate at the National Science Foundation (NSF) has reestablished the schedule of setting two deadlines per year for unsolicited proposals.

Upcoming deadlines are December 1, 2004; March 1, 2005; October 1, 2005; and March 1, 2006. Proposals may be submitted beginning 30 days prior to the deadline. No proposals will be accepted after 5 PM (local time in the time zone of the investigator) on the day of the deadline.

CMS encourages cross-disciplinary partner-ships and funds research that contributes to the knowledge base and intellectual growth in a variety of areas including risk reduction, earthquakes, and natural and technological hazards. For more information, visit http://www.eng.nsf.gov/cms/.

5) From a Reader

My name is Steven Cochrane and I am looking for participants for a current study I am undertaking into the indirect effects of terrorism. I am completing my thesis at Central Queensland University in Australia and would like to have a diverse set of responses to work with. The questionnaire is in an online format and takes about 15 minutes to complete. It can be found at http://www.studyonterrorism.com. I would very much appreciate your participation. The questionnaire will be live through the middle of September 2004.

With thanks,

Steven Cochrane
c/o Department of Psychology
Central Queensland University
Queensland, 4701, Australia
e-mail: steve@realdealmultimedia.com

6) Mary Fran Myers Scholarship

Becky Ault, emergency manager/9-1-1 coordinator for Pembina County, North Dakota, has won the first Mary Fran Myers (MFM) Scholarship. The scholarship was established established in honor of Mary Fran's numerous contributions to hazards and disaster research and practice.

Through ten years and ten presidential disaster declarations, Ault has been very active with geographic information systems (GIS) and computer mapping, mitigation activities, and countywide implementation of the 9-1-1 system. During her tenure, Ault has created a multifunctional digitized mapping system, participated in a number of mitigation projects along the Red River, updated the countywide warning system, and played a role in Pembina County's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration StormReady designation.

More information about the MFM Scholarship, including eligibility and the application process, will be announced by the Hazards Center at http://www.colorado.edu/hazards/scholarship/ as it becomes available.

7) Mary Fran Myers Award

The Mary Fran Myers Award was established in 2002 by the Gender and Disaster Network (GDN). The award recognizes that vulnerability to disasters and mass emergencies is influenced by social, cultural, and economic structures that marginalize women and girls. The award was so named to recognize Myers' sustained efforts to launch a worldwide net-work among disaster professionals for advancing women's careers and for promoting research on gender issues, disasters, emergency management, and higher education.

Madhavi Malalgoda Ariyabandu, the 2004 winner of the Mary Fran Myers Award, is a disaster mitigation program manager and author at the Intermediate Technology Development Group (ITDG) in Sri Lanka. Ariyabandu's accomplishments include addressing gender in disasters throughout ITDG's Asia region with a focus on linking gender issues to sustainable development and taking a progressive, gender-sensitive approach to risk reduction, and acting as a role model for women in the disaster field through actions, publications, and a personal commitment.

For more information about the Mary Fran Myers Award and profiles of past winners, visit http://www.colorado.edu/hazards/mfmaward/.

8) National Preparedness Month

September is National Preparedness Month, a month-long campaign to engage Americans in emergency preparedness and provide a variety of opportunities to learn how to prepare for an emergency and become better informed about relevant threats. Supported by a coalition of more than 50 national organizations, including the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the America Prepared Campaign, and the American Red Cross, the effort features events hosted at the federal, state, and local levels and by individual communities, private busi-nesses, and nonprofit organizations. For more information, contact Kristen Gossel or Lara Shane with DHS at (202) 282-8010. Useful web sites include http://www.americaprepared.org/ and http://www.ready.gov/.

9) NEES Training Course

Applications are invited to participate in a training course on the new George E. Brown, Jr., Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES) site at the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign on September 10, 2004.

The Multi-axial Full-Scale Sub-structured Testing and Simulation (MUST-SIM) facility is a state-of-the-art system for combining physical testing and analytical simulation to investigate the seismic response of complex systems that include the structure, its foundation and the underlying soil.

The training program will include hands-on exercises, exploration of data-acquisition systems, and running a simulation of a multi-storey building that represents a multi-site physical-analytical experiment. Full documentation on the facility, its use and reference applications will be provided to participants.

A limited number of funds to support attendance are available. Further information is available at: http://nees.uiuc.edu/TrainingDay.asp or by contacting Gary Gan, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2143 Newmark Lab, MC-250, 205 North Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801; (217) 333-7522; e-mail: quangan@uiuc.edu.

10) Jobs, Jobs, Jobs

[Below are a few recent job vacancies that are related to some of the myriad activities in which DR readers engage. Please contact the organizations directly for more information.]

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Emergency Management Staff Position

Redwood City, California, is seeking to hire a member of the emergency management staff at the San Mateo County Sheriff's Area Office of Emergency Services, located south of San Francisco and north of San Jose. This is a full time position. The Sheriff's Office of Emergency Services (OES) develops and coordinates preparedness and mitigation projects to ensure adequate emergency response readiness and capabilities that minimize loss of life and property in a disaster. Projects and services extended to cities participating in a joint powers agreement include hazard and emergency planning, training, emergency exercises, public and special subject education, communication services, general administration, resources coordination and field response.

Position details are available at http://www.co.sanmateo.ca.us (OES District Coordinator vacancy). If you have additional questions contact Bill O'Callahan, San Mateo County Sheriff's Area OES, 400 County Center, Redwood City, CA 94063; (650) 363-4790; e-mail: wocallahan@co.sanmateo.ca.us.

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Contract Positions

Three contract positions dedicated to an Environmental Protection Agency contract on sampling, air modeling, emergency response, and counter terrorism work are available. Preferred requirements include a masters degree in one of the life sciences and some emergency response experience. The area of responsibility is Federal Region II, and the office is located in Edison, New Jersey. The positions would be reporting to either the prime contractor or the subcontractor.

For more information, contact Ann Hayward Walker, SEA Consulting, 325 Mason Avenue, Cape Charles VA 23310; (757) 331-1787.

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Senior Manager Positions

NEES Consortium, Inc. (NEESinc), headquartered in Davis, California, is a startup nonprofit corporation that will serve as the technical coordination, administrative, and outreach center for the George E. Brown, Jr., Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES). NEESinc seeks applicants for three senior managers who will serve to establish and manage key business and technical elements of the maintenance, operation and management services to be provided for the NEES community. The three positions are: manager of experimental site operations, manager of finance and business operations, and manager of information technology.

Desirable characteristics for all three senior management positions include: strong vision for, and personal commitment to, advancement of earthquake engineering and seismic risk mitigation practices through experimental, analytical, and numerical research; ability to perform effectively within a results-oriented, client-driven service organization; comfort with a team-oriented, dynamic, and flexible work environment with frequently varied job responsibilities requiring a high degree of initiative and self-sufficiency; significant project and/or research management experience, preferably related to earthquake engineering issues; experience working with the National Science Foundation, and with government contracting and reporting procedures; excellent organizational, interpersonal, oral presentation, and written communications skills; among other characteristics.

Interested applicants should electronically submit a single PDF file to: Search Committee, NEES Consortium, Inc.; e-mail: info@nees.org. The submission should contain the applicant's vision and strategy for the position for which they are applying, a current CV, and contact information for three references. Detailed position-related information can be found at http://www.nees.org or by contacting Cliff Roblee at (530) 757-NEES; e-mail: cliff.roblee@nees.org.

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Counter Terrorism/Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Specialist

Ecology and Environment, Inc., an international environmental consulting firm, has an opening in its San Francisco office for a counter-terrorism/WMD specialist to support and manage a broad range of technical projects and homeland security-oriented activities including operations and training, writing assessments and plans, supporting hazardous materials response, and more. Requirements include an undergraduate degree, experience leading project teams, OSHA HAZWOPER certification, and excellent communication skills.

Special consideration will be given to candidates possessing: hazmat emergency response experience; in-depth training on or practical experience with the properties, detection methods, clean-up and safety monitoring for chemical or biological agents; experience conducting radiation site safety monitoring, site assessment, clean up and disposal; work experience or training in emergency or domestic preparedness including exercise design and evaluation.

E-mail resume, cover letter, and salary expectation to: scopeland@ene.com. For more information contact Human Resources Ecology and Environment, Inc., 368 Pleasant View Drive, Lancaster, NY 14086; (716) 684-8060; http://www.ene.com/.

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Public Affairs Officers/FEMA

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is looking for qualified public affairs professionals to join the cadre of people who provide critical information to disaster victims of presidentially declared disasters. FEMA public affairs reservists work on an intermittent on-call basis. They must be able to travel to disaster sites often for extended periods of time. The hiring period is open through August 27, 2004.

For more information and to apply call FEMA's employment opportunities hotline at (800) 879-6076.

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Assistant Professor: Hazards and Society

University of California, Santa Barbara, Department of Geography, invites applications for a tenure-track faculty position at the assistant professor level in hazards and society. Candidates must have a Ph.D. degree by July 1, 2005, in geography or a related field, excellent potential for quality teaching, and evidence of outstanding potential for developing a vigorous research program. Possible research foci include: natural hazards (droughts, earthquakes, hurricanes, fire, floods, etc.); behavioral aspects of environmental risks; biohazards and disease transmission; and cognitive aspects (thinking, attitudes, communication) of global climate change.

The geography department has strengths in three systematic areas: modeling, measurement, and computation; human-environment relations; and earth system science. Prospective candidates should be able to support one or more of these areas in teaching and research. The department is especially interested in candidates who can contribute to the diversity and excellence of the academic community through research, teaching, and service, regardless of academic rank.

The application deadline is December 9, 2004, and the starting date is July 1, 2005. Applicants should mail a complete curriculum vitae, a statement of research and teaching interests, and the names of at least three referees to Search Committee Chair, Department of Geography, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106; e-mail: hazards@geog.ucsb.edu; http://www.geog.ucsb.edu.

11) Some New Web Resources

[Below are some new or updated Internet resources we've discovered. For an extensive list of useful Internet sites dealing with hazards, see http://www.colorado.edu/hazards/resources/sites.html.]

http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/releases/wtc_victims_location.htm
Since 2002 the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has been conducting a comprehensive investigation of the World Trade Center disaster, consisting of eight separate projects. An interim analysis of the location of the location of the victims in the towers, one of the projects, is available at this site. General information about the NIST project is provided at http://wtc.nist.gov/.

http://dels.nas.edu
The National Academies' Division on Earth and Life Studies has released an on-line earth and life studies gateway, featuring news, reports, projects and upcoming events. The site offers the ability to sign up for e-mail updates, including notification when new study committee rosters have been posted for public comment.

http://www.floridadisaster.org/
The "Wildfire Mitigation in Florida: Land Use Planning Strategies and Best Development Practices" guide is available at the Florida Division of Emergency Management web site. The guide identifies a number of strategies, best development practices, and initiatives of value to planners, elected officials, developers, landscapers, homeowners and other community leaders with a role to play in wildfire mitigation. Although the guide is tailored to Florida communities, the concepts may be applied across the nation.

http://www.bt.cdc.gov/training/ncphr/
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) presentations from the first national congress on public health and readiness held in July are available on this site. The overarching goal of the congress was to strengthen linkages between health care and public health leaders to enhance preparedness.

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/surv&control.htm
Recently updated information from the CDC on West Nile virus statistics, surveillance, and control is available at this web site.

http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2004/hurricanes/
CNN's 2004 Hurricane Web pages can be found here.

http://www.prudent-solutions.com/Earthquake/
This digital library, maintained by Prudent Solutions, is a resource for emergency managers and planners working with earthquakes. The library contains a systematic and searchable collection of resources.

http://www.prepare.org/
This web site, sponsored by the American Red Cross and other community-based organizations, is designed to assist families prepare for natural and human-caused disasters as well as serve the needs of vulnerable populations (seniors, children, people with disabilities, animal owners and people whose first language is not English) through such features as specific information, a large print section that prints out in oversized type, documents in multiple languages, and a text-only option that complies with Section 508 (Federal) and W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) guidelines for web accessibility for people with disabilities.

http://www.ahrq.gov/research/altsites.htm
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has released a tool to help state and local officials quickly locate alternate health care sites if hospitals are overwhelmed by patients due to a bioterrorism attack or other public health emergency. The alternate care site selection tool is included in a new report, Rocky Mountain Regional Care Model for Bioterrorist Events, which is available on-line.

http://www.sloan.org/programs/pg_national.shtml#bioterror
The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation awards grants on a rolling basis to nonprofit organizations working to reduce the threat from bioterrorism in a variety of ways.

12) Conferences and Training

[Below are some recent announcements received by the Natural Hazards Center. A comprehensive list of upcoming hazards-related meetings and training is available from our web site: http://www.colorado.edu/hazards/conf.html.]

DIMACS Workshop on Applications of Order Theory to Homeland Defense and Computer Security. Sponsor: Rutgers University. New Brunswick, New Jersey: September 28-29, 2004. This workshop will bring together international researchers who bring two important branches of mathematics to bear in aiding the understanding of terrorist groups and developing strategies for defense against possible external threats to the security of countries: Order Theory and Reflexive Theory. There will also be sessions on the mathematics of risk assessment, networks, information flow, and decision making. For more information contact Mel Janowitz, DIMACS/Rutgers University, e-mail: melj@dimacs.rutgers.edu; http://dimacs.rutgers.edu/Workshops/Defense/.

Erie County Preparedness Conference. Sponsor: Erie County Local Emergency Planning Committee. Buffalo, New York: October 6-7, 2004. Speakers will present on diverse topics, some of which include domestic preparedness, responding to radiological dispersion devices, bioterrorism awareness, grant writing, medical facility preparedness, and issues relating to industry and infrastructure. Conference details can be obtained from Erie County Office Building, Room 1353, 95 Franklin Street, Buffalo, NY 14202; (716) 858-6262; e-mail: eriecountylepc@erie.gov; http://www.erie.gov/depts/lepc/preparedness_conference.asp.

4th Workshop on Advanced Emergency Management, Homeland Security, and Crisis Communication. Sponsor: Emergency and Disaster Management, Inc.(EDMI). Dallas, Texas: November 4-5, 2004. Scheduled in conjunction with the International Association of Emergency Managers meeting, this workshop will focus on identifying credible risks, mitigation strategies, leadership, working with the media, and group facilitation skills. More information can be obtained from EDMI, Dallas Workshop, 5959 West Century Boulevard, Suite 700, Los Angeles, CA 90045; (310) 649-0700; http://www.edmus.info.

Sixth Annual Aviation Security Summit and Expo. Sponsors: Honeywell, Object Video. Las Vegas, Nevada: February 9-11, 2005. The aviation security community is faced with implementing rapidly changing security measures and equipment while ensuring continued effective operations. Airports and airlines are striving to keep up with the latest security trends and regulations without compromising efficiency. This summit will focus on these and other issues. Summit details are available at http://www.worldrg.com/AW500/index.html (brochure and registration information will be available soon).

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