?Disaster Preparedness and Response? ? a proposed conference to be held at Georgia Tech ? will focus on various topics relevant to planning, preparing, and responding to disasters, as well as recovery and mitigation. The main objectives of the conference are to articulate the opportunities and challenges in preparing and responding to disasters, both from a humanitarian and a corporate/economic perspective, to identify important research issues, to create academic awareness for the research opportunities and to establish priorities for non-government organizations (NGOs), corporations, and the government in terms of their strategies, policies, and investments.
Natural and man-made disasters swept through various parts of the world and received much attention over the past decade. In addition to natural disasters, there are also manmade crises that result from terrorist activities, war, etc., which often have similar effects on populations in terms of danger and lack of basic necessities, including shelter, water, food, and safety. These disasters often damage or destroy the infrastructure, change the social and economic conditions, significantly affecting peoples? lives. They also have a big impact on businesses and the economy overall. It is now well understood that planning, preparing, and responding to a disaster requires the collaboration of many parties, including NGOs, the private sector, and the governments. Focusing on preparedness (rather than on response only) emerged as a key interest area for all parties involved. Given the complexity of the problems faced and the lives at stake, there is a tremendous need and potential for academic research in this area, and the impact of this research is expected to be significant both in terms of the number of lives that can be saved and the economic value. The proposed conference will focus on the identification of research areas in disaster preparedness and response that are likely to be successful and have high potential impact.
