ESE professor Luettich receives Science and Technology Impact Award
March 23, 2010 | |
Natural hazards and disaster expert Rick Luettich, PhD, has received a Science and Technology Impact Award from the Department of Homeland Security. Luettich, director and lead principal investigator of the department’s UNC-based Center of Excellence for Natural Disasters, Coastal Infrastructure and Emergency Management, also directs the UNC Institute of Marine Sciences in Morehead City, N.C. At The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he is professor of marine sciences at the UNC College of Arts and Sciences and of environmental sciences and engineering at UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health.
The award, presented during the homeland security department’s recent University Network Summit in Washington, D.C., recognizes the applicability and utility of research projects to real-world problems and their positive impact on national security.
Luettich received the award for his work on the ADCIRC (Advanced Circulation) Storm Surge and Inundation Model. The model is a computer program used by the Louisiana Governor’s Office and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to make decisions about emergency planning, mitigation and recovery efforts, flood gate closures, response personnel positioning and disaster aid estimates.
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Note: A YouTube video about Luettich’s coastal hazards modeling work is available online.
UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health contact: Ramona DuBose, director of communications, (919) 966-7467 or ramona_dubose@unc.edu.
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