Texas Hurricane Center Presents Conference at UH Aug. 2

Coastal Protection, Preparation Addressed at 5th Annual Event

Coastal protection and debris management for hurricanes and other disasters are among the many topics to be discussed at a conference at the University of Houston (UH) Aug. 2, addressing preparation plans for the 2013 hurricane season.

Open to members of the community, emergency managers and industry suppliers, this fifth-annual event – “Hurricanes, Major Disasters, Coastal Protection and Rapid Recovery in Texas and the Gulf Coast Region” – will take place from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Hilton University of Houston in the Conrad Hilton Ballroom. The event is sponsored by the Texas Hurricane Center for Innovative Technology (THC-IT) and the civil, environmental and industrial engineering departments at UH.

Topics include flood-related challenges, Port of Houston concerns and issues, coastal county preparedness and protection, and emergency management planning and collaboration in the Texas Medical Center. Power grid considerations, addressing forecast uncertainty in hurricane response plans, loss mitigation, evacuation, transportation issues, rapid recovery and new technologies also will be discussed, and more than 15 research posters on various related topics will be presented.

“Attendees can expect to leave the conference with information about the latest plans and procedures in preparing for hurricanes and other major disasters in Gulf Coast cities,” said Cumaraswamy “Vipu” Vipulanandan, director of THC-IT and a professor of civil and environmental engineering at UH. “There will be opportunities to network with state, city and county emergency managers, engineers, suppliers, consultants, researchers, educators, scientists, students and exhibitors.”

Seating is limited to the first 120 registrants. Registration is offered at the door for $145, with students receiving a discounted price of $60 with a current UH ID and school registration. The cost covers admission, lunch, coffee breaks and free hotel parking. Conference attendees can earn up to five professional development hours.

For more information on THC-IT, visit http://hurricane.egr.uh.edu/.

WHAT:
5th Annual Hurricane Conference at the University of Houston

WHEN:
8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Friday, Aug. 2

WHERE:
Hilton University of Houston
Conrad Hilton Ballroom
Off Calhoun Road, Entrance 1 – parking in hotel garage
Map: http://www.uh.edu/campus_map/buildings/CHC.php

WHO:
The Texas Hurricane Center for Innovative Technology hosts a variety of well-known, distinguished speakers.

###

To receive UH science news via e-mail, sign up for UH-SciNews.

For more information about UH, visit the university’s newsroom.

For additional news alerts about UH, follow us on Facebook and Twitter.