Matthew Van is finishing his second year in the PhD in the disaster science and management program at the University of Delaware.
He currently works in the Enrico Quarantelli Resource Collection at the University of Delaware’s Disaster Research Center. In addition, he is involved in several research groups, including the COVID Collections Project with New York University, the Homelessness, Housing Precarity, and Disasters Network group, and the Disaster Justice Network. Although he is relatively new to studying hazards, disasters, and emergency management, Matthew has found that these disciplines align with his unending academic interests, which seem to grow in number every day. The gap between practitioners and academics in the field of disasters has been commented on many times, and Matthew hopes to someday be of some use in supporting both sectors.
His previous educational background includes studying biology and public affairs at the University of California, Los Angeles, medical sciences at Boston University, and emergency services administration at California State University, Long Beach. This is Matthew’s third time attending the Natural Hazards Workshop and his first time as a student volunteer.