EXPERTS ADVISORY

Hurricane Patricia grew into the strongest on record in the Western Hemisphere on Friday morning as it approached Mexico’s Pacific Coast, with maximum sustained winds near 200 mph, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.

University of Michigan experts are available to discuss this Category 5 storm. They are:

Christopher Ruf, professor of atmospheric science and electrical engineering and lead investigator on a NASA mission called the Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System, which is scheduled to launch in fall 2016. The $173 million CYGNSS mission consists of eight microwave oven-size satellites and is expected to significantly improve forecasts of hurricane wind speed and storm intensity.

Contact: 734-764-6561, [email protected]

Perry Samson, professor of atmospheric science in the Department of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering. He studies extreme weather and the physics behind it, and can discuss hurricane formation and the factors that affect storm intensity.

Contact: 734-276-0815 (cell), [email protected]

Seth Guikema, associate professor of industrial and operations engineering in the College of Engineering. He has forecast hurricanes for more than a decade and accurately predicted that superstorm Sandy in 2012 would knock out power for close to 10 million. His focuses on issues related to disaster risk analysis, natural hazards, climate change and climate adaptation, and the resilience and sustainability of urban areas and infrastructure.

Contact: 734-764-6475, [email protected]

Dr. Eden Wells, clinical associate professor of epidemiology and director of the Preventive Medicine Residency at the School of Public Health, has research interests in emerging infectious disease threats, applied epidemiology and public health practice, including preparedness planning for public health emergency events. She is also chief medical executive for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. A board-certified physician in internal medicine and preventive medicine, Wells is an expert in disaster epidemiology.

Contact: 734-647-5306, [email protected]

Neal Krause, professor emeritus of health behavior and health education at the School of Public Health. He can discuss stress and health of older people when faced with a crisis. His work focuses on the resources people use to cope with stress, particularly social relationships and religion.

Contact: 734-763-5583, [email protected]