Joseph Trainor

Joe Trainor is an associate professor in the School of Public Policy and Administration at the University of Delaware and a Core Faculty Member of the Disaster Research Center, where he, conducts research, provides consultation, teaches, and mentors students.

Trainor conducts multi-disciplinary, mixed methods, qualitative, and quantitative research focused on many different dimensions of disasters and crises. His studies include “basic” science, applied research, and rapid reconnaissance post-disaster fieldwork studies. Recent projects have focused on: I Disaster Researcher and Practitioner Integration; Warnings, Risk Perception, and Protective Action Decision making for short fuse hazards; Post Hurricane Housing Decisions; Household Insurance and Mitigation Decision, and Multi-organizational Response.

In terms of instruction, Trainor is a core faculty member in the Disaster Science and Management (DISA) program. He teaches courses and advises students in the DISA, the Urban Affairs and Public Policy PhD, and the Public Policy BA. He also serves on key committees for these programs and for the School of Public Policy and Administration.

Finally, Trainor has international experience and has worked on projects with collaborators in India, Sri Lanks, Netherlands, Sweden, Japan, and Australia. He is particularly interested in how different cultural settings impact human interpretation and response to disasters and risk.