ANN ARBOR—The University of Michigan has several experts available to discuss a variety of topics related to the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. They include:

John Lee, a professor in the Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences, is an expert on the type of nuclear reactor in these Japanese power plants, and also on reactor safety. He can be reached at jcl@umich.edu or 734-764-9379.

Henry Pollack, professor of geological sciences, can offer historical perspectives on other major earthquakes and tsunamis. The author of “Uncertain Science . . . Uncertain World,” Pollack also can discuss the difficulty of predicting natural disasters. He can be reached at (734) 763-0084 or hpollack@umich.edu. For more information, visit: http://www.geo.lsa.umich.edu/dept/faculty/pollack/index.html.

Victor Li, a professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, could discuss seismic resistance in buildings. He is the developer of a bendable concrete that is used in the coupling beams of two 40-story apartment buildings buildings in Tokyo and one in Osaka. He has not received word yet on the state of those buildings. Reach him at (734)764-3368 or vcli@umich.edu. For more information about bendable concrete: http://ns.umich.edu/index.html?Releases/2005/May05/r050405.

Larry John Ruff, professor of geological sciences, is an expert on earthquakes whose current research is on remote triggering of quakes. He is available afternoons and evenings at (734) 763-9301 or ruff@umich.edu. For more information, visit: http://www.geo.lsa.umich.edu/~ruff/.

Ben van der Pluijm, the Bruce R. Clark Collegiate Professor of Geology and Professor of the Environment, is engaged in research on earthquake faulting and can also address general questions about earthquakes and tsunamis. He is currently away from campus but can be reached at vdpluijm@umich.edu. For more information: http://globalchange.umich.edu/ben/ or http://bit.ly/UMBvdP

Bill Martin, a professor in the Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences, could discuss nuclear reactors and reactor safety, as well as nuclear energy’s role in the nation’s energy future. Martin is involved in a research project to create a virtual reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Such a system would enable more enhanced testing of nuclear reactors. Reach Martin at 734-764-5534 or wrm@umich.edu.

Gary Was, a professor in the Department of Nuclear Energy and Radiological Sciences, could discuss nuclear energy in general and its role in the nation’s energy future. Was’s expertise is in nuclear materials. Reach him at 734 763-4675 or gsw@umich.edu.

Kim Kearfott, a professor in the Department of Nuclear Energy and Radiological Sciences, could discuss the effects of radiation on human health. Reach her at (734) 763-9117 or kearfott@umich.edu.

Jennifer Robertson is a professor of anthropology who studies Japan. She could comment on the ways in which the Japanese people are prepared and also live with a constant awareness of their techtonic vulnerability. Reach her at (734) 763-4682 or jrocketson@aol.com.

Mahshid Abir, M.D. is and emergency physician and second year scholar in the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program. His research focus is mass casualty incident and disaster preparedness and response. He can discuss the important necessary steps in responding to the acute phase of the earthquake/tsunami disaster in Japan, the most likely injuries secondary to the earthquake and the health consequences of the tsunami among survivors.Abir is a Fellow, Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program, Clinical Lecturer, Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Michigan. He may be reached at mahshida@med.umich.edu

Dean Sienko, M.D., it an adjunct professor on the U-M School of Public Health and the Health Officer/Medical Director Ingham County Health Department.His expertise is in disaster planning/response and in the operations of the incident command system that would conduct command and control to coordinate the response to such an emergency. He also has experience in disaster epidemiology and in studying ways to mitigate disasters in both the short and long terms. Sienko may be reached at (517) 887-4311 or dsienko@ingham.org

Rani Kotha executive director of the U-M Center for Global Health can has been involved with several disasters, including: the 2000 Gujarat Earthquake, 2003 Bam/Iran Earthquake, 2004 Tsunami, and the 2005 Kashmir/Pakistan Earthquake. Kotha, also a research investigator in the U-M SPH, can discuss on the ground immediate disaster response, clean up, rebuilding and long-term sustainable recovery efforts. She may be reached at (734) 615-4306 or rkotha@umich.edu

Brant Fries, a professor in the U-M SPH, developers assessments regarding elderly/nursing home care that have been involved in three disasters: Katrina in Louisiana they used information from our assessments when nursing home residents were transferred; South Dakota?many years ago, when rivers flooded and nursing home residents were evacuated, the early computerized assessment that the state had were the only information on nursing home residents evacuated and used to guide their care in their new facility; and Christchurch in New Zealand. Data from our assessment systems were been used to identify frail elderly in the community and teams have gone out to assure that they survived the quake. Fries can discuss his experiences in these incidents and also some of the problems that may be facing Japan?s elderly population. He can be reached at (734) 936-2107; bfries@umich.edu

Dean Yang, associate professor of economics and public policy, is an expert on the economic effects of natural disasters and has studied how well disaster losses are buffered by international financial flows, such as foreign aid and foreign direct investment. He can be reached at (734) 764-6158 or deanyang@umich.edu. For more information about Yang, visit http://www-personal.umich.edu/~deanyang.

Wally Hopp, the Herrick Professor of Manufacturing at the Ross School of Business, is an expert on the design, control and management of production, supply chain and work systems. He can discuss the impact of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami on the global manufacturing supply chain. He serves on a panel at the Council on Supply Chain Risk Leadership that is looking at the Japan situation. He can be reached at (734) 763-6027 or whopp@umich.edu.

Brian Zikmund-Fisher, assistant professor of health behavior and health education and research assistant professor in internal medicine, can discuss how best to communicate risk information and how the public reacts to risks such as the radiation exposures being caused by the leaks at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. He can be reached at (734) 936-9179 or bzikmund@umich.edu

Andrew Maynard, professor of environmental health sciences and director of the U-M Risk Science Center, studies the potential health and environmental impacts of emerging technologies. Specific topics he can discuss include the health, environmental, social and economic impacts of emerging technologies such as nanotechnology, synthetic biology and geoengineering; developing science and oversight policy that addresses emergent risks without unnecessarily stifling innovation; risk communication; and enabling members of the public, policy makers, industry and NGO’s to make science-informed decisions on risks to human health and the environment. Maynard writes and testifies widely on managing the potential impacts of emerging technologies on society.He can be reached at (734) 647-6858 or maynarda@umich.edu