Impact of high-wind events
David O. PrevattDavid O. Prevatt is a structural engineer who studies how residential structures perform in high wind events. His work advances the knowledge for societies to enhance community-resilience and design more sustainable structures.
Email: dprev@ufl.edu
Forrest MastersA wind engineer who studies tropical cyclone wind and wind-driven rain effects on the built environment through field reconnaissance during landfalling hurricanes.
Email: masters@eng.ufl.edu
Arthriya SubgranonUses AI and HiperGator, UF’s supercomputer, in her work to improve forecast modeling of infrastructure damage due to hurricanes.
Email: Arthriya@ufl.edu
Water quality and storm surge
Mary Lusk
Mary Lusk can speak about the impact of flooding on well water and septic systems. In the event of flooding, she can tell residents whether and when it’s safe to use their water after a storm strikes.
Email: mary.lusk@ufl.edu
Elise MorrisonWater is often contaminated after storm surge. She can discuss engineering approaches to accurate assessment of water quality during hurricane rescue and restoration.
Email: elise.morrison@essie.ufl.edu
Coastal impact and climatology
Maitane OlabarrietaMaitane Olabarrieta’s work focuses on the processes that drive coastal erosion and flooding under extreme storms and improving numerical models used to predict coastal change.
Email: Maitane.olabarrieta@essie.ufl.edu
John JaegerJohn Jaeger studies the impact of hurricanes on Florida’s coastline, specifically shoreline retreat near the Kennedy Space Center and the threat of saltwater intrusion to the launch pads.
Email: jmjaeger@ufl.edu
Katy SerafinKaty Serafin researches extreme sea levels, compound events, and coastal flooding and erosion hazards to better understand how our coastlines are changing and the resulting impacts to people and places.
Email: kserafin@ufl.edu
Corene MatyasCorene Matyas is a geology professor who teaches courses on hurricanes, atmospheric teleconnections, climatology and data analysis using GIS. Their research areas of specialization include tropical climatology, hurricanes, severe weather and remote sensing of rainfall.
Email: matyas@ufl.edu
General hurricane preparation, mitigation and recovery
Carrie StevensonCarrie Stevenson, an editor of Florida Homeowner’s Handbook to Prepare for Natural Disasters, educates citizens on hurricane preparation, with a focus on hurricane-resilient tree selection, flooding, sea level rise, historical impacts from storms, the science of hurricanes and wind mitigation.
Email: ctsteven@ufl.edu
Jeffrey LindseyJeffrey Lindsey is a retired fire chief with more than 45 years of experience with hurricanes, wildland fires and common emergencies. He has expertise in emergency services administration, management of personnel and major scenes, education and emergency and disaster response.
Email: Jeffrey.lindsey@ufl.edu
Xilei ZhaoXilei Zhao is a civil and coastal engineer who studies citizens’ decision-making during evacuation orders under the threat of hurricane. With funding from the NSF, she looked at how people dealt with conflicting objectives during Hurricane Ian.
Email: xilei.zhao@essie.ufl.edu
Community resilience and recovery
Jason von MedingJason von Meding, an associate professor in the Rinker School of Construction Management and member of the Florida Institute for Built Environment Resiliency (FIBER), is an expert in how disaster affects people.
Email: jason.vonmeding@ufl.edu
Angie LindseyAngie Lindsey’s area of focus is on community resource organizations and collaborative efforts during the recovery period following a disaster.
Email: ablindsey@ufl.edu
Maria WatsonMaria Watson is an urban planner with expertise in disaster recovery. She investigates factors that impact a community’s response and how business and housing recovery are linked.
Email: maria.watson@ufl.edu
Agriculture/Crop damage
Jonathan CraneA tropic-fruit crop expert, Johathan Crave studies how hurricanes affect Florida agriculture and damage fruit crops and grove infrastructure.
Email: jhcr@ufl.edu
Economic Impact
Christa CourtChrista Court, director of the UF/IFAS Economic Impact Analysis Program, conducts economic modeling on disaster impacts on agriculture, forestry and fisheries in Florida.
Email: ccourt@ufl.edu
Asoo Vakharia
Asoo Vakharia researches sustainability, management supply chain disruptions and legislative policies to regulate environmental impact.
Email: asoo.vakharia@warrington.ufl.edu
Ted KuryTed Kury, the director of Energy Studies for the Public Utility Research Center, can comment on economics and energy risk management and energy and the environment.
Email: ted.kury@warrington.ufl.edu
Food safety
Keith Schneider
Keith Schneider’s research focuses on food safety and understanding foodborne illnesses. He has expertise in strategies to prevent the consumption of spoiled food that can cause illness after power loss due to a storm.
Email: keiths29@ufl.edu
Livestock
Todd Thrift
Todd Thrift is a beef cattle specialist with expertise in cow-calf management and feedlot management. His work focuses on applied cow-calf management in Florida, and he can comment on preparing livestock for disasters, ranch recovery and management.
Email: tathrift@ufl.edu
Mosquitos
Eva Buckner
Eva Buckner, a medical entomology extension specialist researches mosquitoes and mosquito-control efforts. After hurricanes, she works directly with affected communities and mosquito-control programs to get information and resources to those in need.
Email: eva.buckner@ufl.edu
Stormwater drainage
Don Rainey
If a hurricane hits, the heavy rain may bring more nutrients downstream. Don Rainey, a water resources agent for UF/IFAS, focuses on stormwater, drainage and nutrients that flow downstream from homes to stormwater ponds.
Email: drainey@ufl.edu
Trees
Ryan Klein
Ryan Klein studies how trees in urban areas are affected by hurricanes and the risks these damaged trees pose to property and residents. He can address questions about the many variables that can cause trees to fall during hurricanes and other intense storms.
Email: ryanwklein@ufl.edu
Wildlife and marine animals
Shirley Baker
Shirley Baker, a professor of molluscan biology and aquaculture with UF/IFAS, has expertise in marine animals. She can provide insight on how major storms and disasters impact populations and natural animal behaviors.
Email: Sbaker25@ufl.edu