Hazards and Society Research

Students will engage in experiential research in Science and Humanities -  in the newly developed discipline of environmental humanities which attempts to explain humanity's role in natural disasters and the process of resilience and recovery.  In order to prepare for research projects, students will learn about the fundamentals of environmental & cultural resilience and physical processes controlling natural hazards such as volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tsunami, landslides, and forest fires. Open-ended research projects will address several aspects of hazard and risk forecasting, including mapping hazards footprints for a specific community, assessing human / economic impact of the hazard, and analyzing religious and cultural elements that make societies resilient to natural disasters. While each student will receive individual feedback from the professors, students will also meet in groups to compare their findings and develop research knowledge and abilities.