The NCR utilises existing knowledge, commissions demand led research projects and funds practical projects to address real life issues faced by resilience practitioners and communities. Using its networks, it creates links for researchers to help them adapt their project outputs into tailored briefings and tools for end users and then maximises the potential use and impacts of this work by disseminating research outputs.

With growing population and infrastructures, the world's exposure to hazards is increasing. When disaster strikes, communities may need to be rebuilt physically economically and socially. At the same time, it is vital that any reconstruction activity pro-actively considers how to protect people and their environment, and reduce a community's vulnerability.

The Global Disaster Resilience Centre is part of the School of Art, Design and Architecture at the University of Huddersfield in the UK. In November 2013, the University of Huddersfield was awarded the Times Higher Education University of the Year. The University excels in enterprise and innovation and in 2012, was named the Times Higher Education Entrepreneurial University of the Year.

We:

• Excel in research within an interdisciplinary environment
• Lead international research that has a global reach and impact
• Edit the International Journal of Disaster Resilience n the Built Environment Journal (SCOPIS indexed)
• Constantly publish our research - internationally outstanding, displaying a very high level of originality, significance and rigour, innovative and potentially agenda setting
• Are a key partner of the UNISDR Making Cities Resilient Campaign and are members of its steering committee
• Act as Advocates of UNISDR
• Are a UNHABITAT University
• Provide leadership to our international conferences on building resilience
• Lead ANDROID Disaster Resilience Network
• Provide leadership for capacity building activities globally
• Have a friendly and supporting research environment
• Make a difference with research in the real world
• Have a thriving postgraduate researcher community

Natural hazards such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunami, floods and storms destroy lives and damage economies across the globe; pandemics have the potential to bring death and suffering on an unprecedented scale; while climate change may increase the severity of both natural and health disasters.

How society sees risk, how to link understanding of the causative mechanics to statistical approaches, and how to increase resilience and reduce the risk of disasters are common themes cutting across research in natural, environmental, health and technological hazards.

UCL is uniquely well-placed to lead research and teaching in risk and disaster reduction, with at least 70 academics across 12 departments and seven faculties involved in world-class research and practice in the field.

The IRDR, with its new academic staff, many jointly appointed with key UCL departments, its rapidly growing trans-disciplinary PhD research centre, integrative masters teaching, programme of public events and partnerships with humanitarian, financial, research and civil protection organisations, seeks to bring together this diverse expertise at UCL.

We aim to maximise the impact and value of UCL activities and to increase and enhance cross-disciplinary collaboration and cooperation globally.

We are part of the UCL Grand Challenges of Global Health, Sustainable Cities, Intercultural Interaction and Human Wellbeing.

Founded more than 50 years ago to address the issues of providing safe water and sanitation in low- and middle-income countries, WEDC has grown to face the common challenges of water engineering in both developed and developing countries, including water quality and security, water hazards and risk resilience, hydrodynamics, fluvial processes and catchment management.

The Network undertakes research, teaching and learning activities that encompass disaster reduction, sustainable development and resilience building. By necessity an inter-disciplinary field of inquiry, disaster and development studies address human security and wellbeing for individuals, groups and institutions in contexts of current and potential crises.

Northumbria University launched the DDN in 2004 in association with its acclaimed postgraduate programme in Disaster Management and Sustainable Development. Our work has included research, enterprise, capacity building activities across 25 countries for multiple national, international and local organisations. This includes regularly hosting and participating in major events associated with this field in locations around the world.

• ODI's policy advice and outreach has supported governments, donors, and practitioners across the world to improve the uptake of risk management and resilience-building approaches. In addition to bespoke advice and projects ODI have achieved this through our role in major networks including the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN).
• ODI have played (and continue to play) a critical role in promoting adaptation and resilience in post-2015 disaster, climate and development agreements, including shaping the outcomes of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and World Humanitarian Summit.
• We are well known for our strong track record in knowledge dissemination, partnering, and acting as intermediaries between climate scientists, social scientists and decision-makers, including in our role as the Knowledge Manager for the BRACED programme (Building Resilience and Adaptation to Climate Extremes and Disasters) and as the lead institute for PRISE programme (Pathways to Resilience in Semi-arid Economies).
• We also provide regular synthesis, insights and analysis which deepen and broaden knowledge of resilience across sectors and disciplines, including leading the ongoing Resilience Scan initiative.

PHE's research within disaster risk reduction aims to ensure public health and science has a prominent role in the Sendai framework. To achieve this, PHE regularly conducts robust, evidence-based research into disaster risk reduction.

Our research is conducted on the understanding that disasters don't recognise borders, and so protecting the health and wellbeing of the UK involves a commitment research on global issues.

PHE is an executive agency, sponsored by the Department of Health.

The University has enjoyed a period of tremendous growth, and we have achieved our ambition to be a top thirty research University, soaring up the 2014 Research Excellence Framework league table to 26th in the UK from 52nd in 2008.

Additionally, an ambitious Campus Development Programme is well underway - one of the largest knowledge economy projects in the UK and within the top five in Europe.

It involves the creation of the Bay Campus, a brand new £450 million development on the eastern approach to the city, together with the transformation of our existing Singleton Park Campus.

Swansea's multicultural dual-campus community provides a global perspective and opportunities to gain skills that last a lifetime.

True to the vision of its industrial founders in 1920 Swansea University will:

Provide an environment of research excellence, with research that is world-leading, globally collaborative and internationally recognised;

Deliver an outstanding student experience, with research-led and practice-driven teaching of the highest quality that produces global graduates educated and equipped for distinguished personal and professional achievement;

Use its research strength, collaboration with industry and global reach, to drive economic growth, foster prosperity, enrich the community and cultural life of Wales and, contribute to the health, leisure and wellbeing of its citizens.

You can also read more about the University's history, ambitions, and management.

RESEARCH TOPICS

• Capacity building for disaster mitigation and reconstruction
• Risk management and sustainability
• Post-conflict reconstruction
• Community engagement and participation in post-disaster reconstruction
• Protection and empowerment of women and other vulnerable groups
• Knowledge management and integration for disaster management
• Post disaster waste management
• Extreme weather events and coping strategies
• Disaster risk reduction and culture
• Resilience and adaptive capacities of SMEs
• Use of ICT / visualisation for Disaster Management
• Improved disaster resilience through social media interaction

CDR has led and contributed to a wide range of projects within the broad theme of disaster resilience:

• Funding from diverse, prestigious and innovative sources, including EU Framework 7, EU Lifelong Learning, EU Asia Link, European Social Fund, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, British Council and RICS.
• Addressed major local and global challenges such as climate change adaptation, social impact of post-conflict reconstruction, gender, curricular development, knowledge management, continuity planning, and capacity building for resilience.
• Projects carried out in close collaboration with academic, government and non-government partners.

Four key research themes of the CSI are 1) multi-hazards community-based resilience, 2) energy simulation and retrofitting of buildings, 3) accelerated and automated construction, and 4) advanced materials for civil infrastructure. Its Large Scale Structures Laboratory (LSSL) contains a 75-foot by 40-foot test floor with a 3-foot thick strong floor, two 15-ton capacity overhead cranes, and 2-foot thick reconfigurable reinforced-concrete blocks that can be stacked and post-tensioned to the strong floor to provide reaction walls on the testing floor. The sponsors of research projects include National Science Foundation, Federal Highway Administration, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Department of Defense, Department of Energy, State DOTs, and the industry.

The PEER mission is to develop, validate, and disseminate performance-based seismic design technologies for buildings and infrastructure to meet the diverse economic and safety needs of owners and society. PEER's research defines appropriate performance targets, and develops engineering tools and criteria that can be used by practicing professionals to achieve those targets, such as safety, cost, and post-earthquake functionality.

In addition to conducting research to develop performance-based earthquake engineering technology, PEER actively disseminates its findings to earthquake professionals who are involved in the practice of earthquake engineering, through various mechanisms including workshops, conferences and the PEER Report Series. PEER also conductsEducation and Outreach programs to reach students, policy makers, and others interested in earthquake issues.

PEER was established as a consortium of nine West Coast Universities in 1996 and gained status as a National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center in 1997. PEER graduated from NSF Funding in 2008 and is now supported by federal, state, local and regional agencies together with industry partners. Despite this funding shift, PEER continues to grow and remains an active earthquake engineering research center with a wide spectrum of technical activities and projects. PEER now has ten Core Institutions but also actively involves researchers, educators, students, and earthquake professionals from across the US and worldwide.

The RCRI is a catalyst for creating effective and productive applied research partnerships. The RCRI is where answers to real world questions are formulated, where partnerships with the civil society yield community benefits, and where the next generation of student leaders become involved in research and solutions based design.

The RCRI assembles faculty, supervised students and professional affiliates to work on projects of faculty interest and community and professional need. The RCRI engages in grant/contract supported applied research, fee supported projects, and community service programs. These programs and projects are focused on the built and ecological environments and the factors that shape them. It sponsors educational workshops and provides a variety of reports and presentations that further the activities on behalf of RCRI members and partners. While the quality and safety of California's built environment is the primary RCRI focus, broader issues of global importance will also be addressed.

We live in a complex and constantly adjusting world. Solutions require collective work and the RCRI uses the collective expertise approach and innovative technology, to answer the questions of how create, maintain and enhance a sustainable built environment.

A basic goal of the Center is to strengthen communication among researchers and the individuals, organizations, and agencies concerned with reducing damages caused by disasters. More than a quarter century of cultivating discourse among these groups has placed the Natural Hazards Center center-stage in both the national and global hazards communities.

Ongoing support for Center activities is primarily provided by the National Science Foundation and other agencies that support the Center's mission. Recent funding partners include the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U. S. Geological Survey, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Swiss Re has also provided additional funding.

The Center is guided by a National Advisory Committee comprised of representatives of federal agencies that have an interest in hazards as well as stakeholders from academia, state and local government, the private sector, and nongovernmental organizations. The Center has always promoted an all-hazards approach for dealing with environmental extremes and has been a leading proponent of cooperative partnerships among varying disciplines.

The Center for Risk-Based Community Resilience Planning is unique in merging the disciplines of Engineering, Social Sciences and Economics to model community resilience comprehensively. Systems that are essential for the recovery and vitality of a community - technological, financial, social and political support, healthcare delivery, education, and public administration - are being integrated in the model, creating a nexus between social and technological infrastructure that will narrow the gap between engineering and social science aspects of resilience planning and will facilitate risk communication among stakeholders and community resilience planners. The work products from the Center will provide a science-based approach to community resilience assessment and, for the first time, will support a business case for enhancing resilience at the community level.

Full validation of the system architecture in IN-CORE will be possible through extensive field studies focused on community resilience and recovery rather than simply infrastructure damage and failure studies. IN-CORE will be able to answer detailed questions on the lingering effects of natural hazards on communities; population dislocation, health and the well being of the residents, impacts across the economic spectrum as well as the fiscal impacts, thereby assessing community resilience and recovery via a suite of resilience metrics.

Vision of DRC

To be the leader in advancing disaster knowledge, through multi-disciplinary research, that contributes to solving complex social problems related to disasters.

History

The Disaster Research Center was established in 1963 and now, fifty years later, DRC is celebrating its continued success in research, training and service to the disaster community. DRC was established at The Ohio State University in 1963 by Professors E.L. Quarantelli, Russell Dynes and J. Eugene Haas and moved to its current location at the University of Delaware in 1985. The Center was the first in the world devoted to the social scientific study of disasters.

Research Achievements and Challenges:

DRC is proud of the diverse demographic profile amongst its students, including those hailing from Asia, the Caribbean, Europe, South America, Southwest Asia, and the Middle East. Most recently the Center became quite active with the William A. Anderson Fund, a service organization named for gifted researcher and revered DRC alum William A. (Bill) Anderson. Bill had a distinguished career in academia, the World Bank, and the National Science Foundation in advancing disaster research, especially interdisciplinary research. The goal of the Fund is to increase the number of historically underrepresented students in disaster science and practice. DRC faculty are actively involved in student mentoring, holding professional development workshops, and other activities in support of the Fund. The Center is excited that the William A. Anderson Fund has joined DRC, with the University of Delaware as the Flagship institution for the Fund's activities, which will also include a number of satellite universities around the country.

The laboratory involves a multidisciplinary team of engineers, scientists, and business experts, who take advantage of a geographic location in the heart of Florida Space Coast, to serve the needs of industry, government, and the public in wind hazard mitigation.

Objectives

The three main objectives of the WHIRL are:

• research on mitigation of losses to life, property, and the environment;
• education of the public through dissemination of information, and organization of seminars and workshops;
• promotion of multidisciplinary studies focused on wind engineering, and wind related socio-economic studies and analyses.

• Simulation of natural hazards and their actions on built environment (e.g., tornadoes, hurricanes with storm surge, flooding and winter storm)
• Hazard mitigation and community resilience by conducting collaborative research between Engineering and Social Science, Economy, Psychology and Humanities
• Improvement of risk awareness of natural hazards and informed decision-making through Virtual Reality Animation and innovative messaging infrastructure
• Computational Wind Engineering (CFD simulations)
• Structural health monitoring and condition assessment (Linear/Nonlinear system identification and damage detection under multi-hazard environments)

The Center's Investigators conduct original research on population preparedness, response, and recovery; disaster impacts along the life-course; systems approaches to disaster studies; risk communication and decision-making; and the study of resilience. The Center serves as a resource to affected and at-risk communities; to policy-makers and public officials; to disaster and public health scholars; to the media; and to the public health students and the larger academic community at New York University.

The current research portfolio of the Center includes NIH-funded work on long-term disaster recovery, NSF-funded work on the role of belief systems in vaccine-related decision-making, and CDC-funded work on developing performance measures of public health preparedness, as well as ongoing research on the impacts of COVID on the New York State health workforce.