D
ENTON (UNT), Texas — University of North Texas Emergency Management and Disaster Science associate professor Tristan Wu is studying evacuees and the emergency response from Hurricane Laura to create new protocols for emergency managers facing mass evacuations in the time of COVID-19.
Wu said he and his colleagues had the idea to study mass evacuations and COVID-19 in March, but funding wasn’t available. After Hurricane Laura hit Louisiana and Texas in August, they resubmitted the idea to the National Science Foundation and were awarded a Rapid Grant.
“During hurricane events, households usually evacuate together. Their evacuation behavior was solely due to the risk perception of the hurricanes,” Wu said. “This time around it’s very different with the COVID pandemic. They might not want to evacuate or they might evacuate separately because of COVID concerns. If they evacuated, they might be less likely to go to a hotel or an evacuation shelter. We...
Hadidja Nyiransekuye, an assistant professor of social work in the 
DENTON (UNT), Texas — A University of North Texas professor, who studies the role of land buyouts in disaster recovery and hazard mitigation, has been recognized as one of the nation’s top scientific leaders researching ways to improve the wellbeing of coastal communities and ecosystems. Elyse Zavar, assistant professor in the Department of Emergency Management and Disaster Science, is one of the 20 fellows selected as a 2020 Early-Career Research Fellow by the Gulf Research Program of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Her research focuses on buyouts – federally funded land purchased to relocate residents out of high-risk areas like floodplains or hurricane-impacted coastlines – and the challenges and successes of open space land management by local governments, most recently in areas of Harris County hit by Hurricane Harvey.
UNT faculty and students took home a variety of awards.
DENTON (UNT), Texas – Federickia Washington, Ph.D. graduate of public administration and management from the University of North Texas College of Health and Public Service has received a tenure track job offer from the Department of Public Administration at Tennessee State University (TSU).
Leslie Roberts emphasized planning, multi-party negotiation and working with a variety of cultures in the one-day workshop.
Drs. Stan Ingman and Elias Mpofu of the 
DENTON (UNT), Texas – The 
DENTON (UNT), Texas – Josh Caldwell, a third year audiology and speech-language pathology student in the 
DENTON (UNT), Texas – Shae Ebrahimi, an Advanced Joint Master’s student in Social Work in the 
A new report shows that six of the eight jobs with the most job growth are in the healthcare industry.
The students find the scholarships to be a reflection of their hard work.
This is the second consecutive year that Theresa Abah earned a P.E.O. Peace International Scholarship.
The program is tied for number 24 in the nation.
DENTON (UNT), Texas – Stephanie Ray and Graham Huether, both recent graduates of the 
DENTON (UNT), Texas – The majority of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) experience some form of auditory processing issue, yet there are currently no set standard testing procedures for them. With the help of a $111,843 grant from 
UNT researchers say the method shows promise.
Participants will learn skills in computer science, computer engineering, electronics and more.
Dr. Bland will spend the summer teaching and mentoring faculty and students at Renmin University in Beijing.