The Disaster Research Center invites scholars, practitioners, students, and community members to attend its international workshop in Newark, Delaware, during the first weekend in May.

According to Tricia Wachtendorf, CHEER Hub member and co-director of the DRC, the event welcomes participants to brainstorm new theories, directions, methods, and departures in disaster science and research.

The main workshop will take place May 3rd and 4th at Clayton Hall Conference Center at the University of Delaware. This portion of this four-day celebration will include presentations, documentary film screenings, activities, panel sessions, discussion groups, and poster presentations. In addition to the workshop, attendees can sign up for several engaging events. Please see the events and their descriptions on the workshop’s special events page.

Disaster Research Workshop Theme: Innovating for an Imagined Disaster Future

Drones, genetic testing, artificially intelligent information assistants, mobile phones, video chats, bionic limbs: at one time, these were things of science fiction. Today, they are part of modern society. As the world emerges from a global pandemic that caused millions of confirmed deaths, froze international travel and the supply chain, and led to (or revealed) political divides on the very nature of the threat, it is clear that planning for the disasters we know is insufficient. While we continue to try to solve the problems of today, the disasters of the future lurk in the distance. As devastating as the COVID-19 pandemic was, it is not difficult to imagine how it might have been much worse. Imagining those future disasters, and suggesting innovative paths forward, is paramount for disaster science.

Participants must register online to attend the workshop. More information about the event can be found on the Disaster Research Center’s website. Learn more about the founding and history of the DRC here.