Announcement:
2012 Joint Workshop on Disaster Response presented by the
RIT-UB Information Products Laboratory for Emergency Response & UB Center
for Geohazards Studies

Dear fellow scientists, engineers, policy makers, and disaster responders,

The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) and University at Buffalo (UB) Information Products Laboratory for Emergency Response (IPLER) and the UB Center for Geohazards Studies are pleased to announce a joint workshop on the application of remote sensing for disaster response and the science of geohazards, to be held May 30-June 1, 2012, at the RIT campus in Rochester, NY. Disaster can strike anywhere and at any time and place; however, our ”geospatial response” to disasters can be improved through the use of remote sensing technology and knowledge of geohazard phenomenology. The RIT-UB IPLER program seeks to stimulate innovation in the remote sensing industry by (i) working with the disaster response community to understand their
information needs and operational limitations, (ii) introducing them to the capabilities of remote sensing technology, and (iii) conducting research to improve our response to and mitigation of disaster events.

For more details please see the workshop agenda at http://ipler.cis.rit.edu/node/57

Brief highlights:
1. Keynote speakers from federal agencies and the commercial sector:

• Ms. Brenda Jones (United States Geological Survey; Disaster Response Coordinator)
• Dr. Matthew Pritchard (Cornell University; Earth and Atmospheric Sciences)
• Mr. Ron Eguchi (ImageCat Inc.; President & CEO)
• Mr. Shay Har-Noy (TomNod Inc.; CEO)

2.  Meet fellow attendees from industry, academia, and government
3. Listen to talks and roundtable discussions, including student presentations on their latest research and hear about IPLER remote sensing support to the 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami and recent flooding in New
York State (storms Irene and Lee)
4. Participate in learning workshops dealing with the use of remote sensing systems (selection, tasking, and data processing)
5. Travel by complimentary bus to an on-site workshop, hosted at UB by the Center for Geohazards Studies
6. Observe a demonstration of an airborne remote sensing system, image collection, processing, and dissemination, all in real-time (weather permitting)
7. Free lunch (yes there is such a thing) and dinner will be provided to attendees on Days 1 and 2

Free registration: http://ipler.cis.rit.edu/node/59

We look forward to hosting you in Rochester, NY.

Please contact Dr. Jan van Aardt (vanaardt@cis.rit.edu) or Dr. Greg Valentine(gav4@buffalo.edu).
If you have any questions about the Information Products Laboratory for Emergency Response (IPLER) or the UB Center for Geohazards Studies, respectively.