About
The Department of Homeland Security Center of Excellence - Natural Disasters, Coastal Infrastructure and Emergency Management (DIEM) is one of 13 centers authorized by Congress and chosen by the Department's Science & Technology Directorate through a competitive selection process. Each center represents a collaborative effort with partners from other institutions, agencies, laboratories, think tanks, and the private sector. The Homeland Security Centers of Excellence bring together leading experts and researchers to conduct multidisciplinary research and educational initiatives. For more information about the current Centers of Excellence, please see http://www.dhs.gov/xres/programs/editorial_0498.shtm.
DIEM is comprised of 19 universities and partners and is currently engaged in 21 research projects within four primary research areas – 1) Coastal Hazard Modeling; 2) Engineering to Enhance the Resilience of the Built and Natural Environment; 3) Disaster Response and Social Resilience; and 4) Planning for Resilience (please see center overview and current research for more information).
Partners include: California State Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo; Georgia State University; Jackson State University; Louisiana State University; Medical University of South Carolina; Mississippi State University; NOAA National Weather Service Severe Storms Laboratory; North Carolina State University; Renaissance Computing Institute; Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Rice University; Texas Southern University; University of Connecticut; University of Delaware; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; University of North Carolina at Charlotte; University of Oklahoma; University of Texas at Dallas; and the U.S Army Corps of Engineers.
Center of Excellence Co-Leadership: Jackson State University
The Center of Excellence for Natural Disasters, Coastal Infrastructure and Emergency Management is comprised of two co-leads: the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Research Lead) and Jackson State University (Education Lead).
For a Fact Sheet describing the COE partnership, please click here.
The primary role of education within the Center of Excellence for Natural Disasters, Coastal Infrastructure and Emergency Management is conducted by our partners at Jackson State University, where the focus is on creating new university-level course content in natural hazards and emergency management. An aim of the educational model is to educate the current and next generation of emergency managers, hazards practitioners and scholars, emphasizing the need to reach out to underrepresented populations.
NDCIEM Mission Statement:
“Developing educational curricula that serve as a firm and enduring foundation for producing the next generation of researchers and practitioners to help solve the challenges associated with natural hazards and disasters.”
For more information about COE Educational initiatives at Jackson State University, please visit http://www.jsums.edu/dhsndciem/
NDCIEM Contacts at JSU
Dr. Robert W. Whalin PhD, PE
Director
Center of Excellence for Natural Disasters, Coastal
Infrastructure and Emergency Management
1230 Raymond Road Box 1400
Jackson, MS 39208
Tom Richardson
Deputy Director
Center of Excellence for Natural Disasters, Coastal
Infrastructure and Emergency Management
1230 Raymond Road Box 1400
Jackson, MS 39208