PERI Announces 5 Fellowship Awards

NU Online News Service, May 29, 2:37 p.m. EDT

The Fairfax, Va.-based Public Entity Risk Institute (PERI) announced recipients yesterday of its 2009 PERISHIP Dissertation Fellowships in hazards, risks and disasters, awarded to five doctoral program students.

Started in 2004, PERI said the fellowship is administered by a partnership between The Natural Hazards Center at the University of Colorado and with funding from Swiss Re and the National Science Foundation.

This program awards top scholars with a grant of up to $10,000 to support completion of doctoral-level dissertation work in an interdisciplinary hazards field, including natural and physical sciences, social and behavioral sciences, engineering, and other interdisciplinary programs such as environmental studies.

The 2009 PERISHIP Fellows and their dissertation titles are:

o James Jeffers, Rutgers University, Department of Geography, "Confronting Climate Impacts: Local Decision-making, Adaptation and Vulnerability to Climate Change in Ireland's Coastal Cities"

o Megan Reid, University of Texas at Austin, Department of Sociology, "Shelter and Housing Issues Faced by Hurricane Katrina Evacuees"

o Bahadir Sahin, University of Central Florida, Department of Public Administration, "Factors Influencing Effectiveness of Interorganizational Networks among Crisis Management Organizations: A Comparative Perspective"

With Swiss Re Sponsorship:

o Kanako Iuchi, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Department of Urban & Regional Planning, "Toward a Better Resettlement Planning for Disaster Affected Communities: Comparative Case Study of Two Districts in Chuetsu Region, Niigata, Japan"

o Andrew Rumbach, Cornell University, Department of City & Regional Planning, "Urban Disasters in Developing Cities: A Case Study of Koldata, West Bengal, India."

For more information on the PERISHIP program and to learn about the application process, go to www.cudenver.edu/periship.

To see completed dissertations from prior years' PERISHIP Fellows, visit the PERI Web site at www.riskinstitute.org.

PERI is a nonprofit research institute that develops risk management education and training resources for local governments, school districts, small businesses, nonprofits and others.

PERI's Web site serves as a clearinghouse and library with information on a wide range of topics, including disaster preparedness, response and recovery; public health and safety; land use and planning; environmental liability; risk financing and insurance; technology risks; and workers' compensation.

The organization also operates a national performance measurement and benchmarking database known as the PERI Data Exchange, which allows local governments to compare liability and workers' compensation data with their peers and identify strategies to reduce losses and control costs. For more about publications and services, go to www.riskinstitute.org.