Expert Available on Disaster Response Efforts in Turkey and Syria

Expert Available on Disaster Response Efforts in Turkey and Syria

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s José Holguín-Veras is available for comment on the disaster response efforts to the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria.

Holguin-Veras is the William H. Hart Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering; director of the Center for Infrastructure, Transportation, and the Environment; and director of the Volvo Research and Educational Foundations (VREF) Center of Excellence on Sustainable Urban Freight Systems.

Holguin-Veras’ research group has pioneered the multidisciplinary study of post-disaster humanitarian logistic operations. His research has identified the key lessons learned from the response to the largest disasters of recent times, translated these lessons into actionable policy recommendations, and shared these suggestions with disaster response agencies. As part of the field work, his research group has conducted detailed analyses of the most prominent disasters of recent times including Hurricane Katrina, the Port-au-Prince earthquake, the tornadoes in Joplin and Alabama, Hurricane Irene, and the Tohoku disasters in Japan. His contributions to the solution of regional and national problems are numerous as they span modeling, policy, and research.

In addition, Holguin-Veras’ research emphasizes the integration, synthesis, and projection of the knowledge that exists in multiple disciplines to produce solutions to complex and multifaceted problems — that have proven to be too complex to be solved by single-disciplinary approaches — that impact freight transportation and humanitarian logistics. His research taps into the knowledge of social sciences to build more realistic mathematical models of humanitarian logistics and integrate cutting-edge economic principles into freight transportation modeling. This way, a complete picture can be developed on the broader impacts of transportation activity on the economy and the environment, and on the most effective ways to conduct post-disaster humanitarian logistics.

About Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute:

Founded in 1824, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is America’s first technological research university. Rensselaer encompasses five schools, over 30 research centers, more than 140 academic programs including 25 new programs, and a dynamic community made up of over 6,800 students and 104,000 living alumni. Rensselaer faculty and alumni include upwards of 155 National Academy members, six members of the National Inventors Hall of Fame, six National Medal of Technology winners, five National Medal of Science winners, and a Nobel Prize winner in Physics. With nearly 200 years of experience advancing scientific and technological knowledge, Rensselaer remains focused on addressing global challenges with a spirit of ingenuity and collaboration. To learn more, please visit www.rpi.edu.

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