Camarillo, Calif., March 30, 2011 – CSU Channel Islands (CI) will host the 7th Annual Poe Symposium on Friday, April 15, from 12:30 to 5:30 p.m., in Aliso Hall on CI’s campus. The program is free and open to the public.
This year’s program is entitled “Hurricanes, Po Boys and Tarballs: The role of interdisciplinary science approaches in resolving environmental disturbance in the Gulf of Mexico”.
Opening remarks for this year’s Symposium will be made by Dr. Dawn Neuman, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at CI, and Dr. Donald Rodriguez, Associate Professor and Chair of CI’s Environmental Science & Resource Management program.
There will be five separate presentations by experts in their respective fields. Dr. Robert Haddad is the Chief of the Assessment and Restoration Division for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). He also co-leads NOAA’s Damage Assessment Remediation and Restoration Program.
Dr. Duane Gill is Professor and Head of Sociology at Oklahoma State University, and was part of the team investigating human impacts of the 1989 Exxon Valdez Oil Spill in Alaska. Being involved in this and other oil spills, his effort is to seek to understand community preparedness for, response to and recovery from disasters.
Dr. Uta Passow is Research Professor of Oceanography at the Marine Science Institute, UCSB, and a member of the Deepwater Horizon rapid response team. Currently, the lab is focusing on the impact of ocean acidification on carbon cycling and aggregation and on the consequences of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010.
Dr. Ivor Van Heerden is the former Director of the Center for the Study of Public Health Impacts of Hurricanes, at Louisiana State University, a Louisiana Board of Regents Health Excellence Fund Center. He is currently the lead principal investigator on a research team studying the public health impacts of major hurricanes and flooding in New Orleans, where his primary research focus is on storm surge effects and natural hazards preparation and response.
CI’s Rodriguez explained Hurricane Katrina and the BP Deepwater Oil Spill both demonstrated complex problems involving ecological, sociological and economic concerns. How problems like these are resolved will be the basis for this year’s symposium.
Early registration is suggested and those wishing to attend can register online at http://biology.csuci.edu/poe. For additional information, contact Catherine Hutchinson at 805-437-8403 or catherine.hutchinson@csuci.edu.
About California State University Channel Islands
CSU Channel Islands (CI) is the only four-year, public university in Ventura County and is known for its interdisciplinary, multicultural and international perspectives, and its emphasis on experiential and service learning. CI’s strong academic programs focus on business, sciences, liberal studies, teaching credentials, and innovative master’s degrees. Students benefit from individual attention, up-to-date technology, and classroom instruction augmented by outstanding faculty research.
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About California State University Channel Islands
CSU Channel Islands(CI) is the only four-year, public university in Ventura County and is known for its interdisciplinary, multicultural and international perspectives, and its emphasis on experiential and service learning. CI’s strong academic programs focus on business, sciences, liberal studies, teaching credentials, and innovative master’s degrees. Students benefit from individual attention, up-to-date technology, and classroom instruction augmented by outstanding faculty research. CI has been designated by the U.S. Department of Education as a Hispanic-Serving Institution and is committed to serving students of all backgrounds from the region and beyond. Connect with and learn more by visiting CI's Social Media.