METRANS Seminar- Doing Good and Being Right(eous): Cleaning Up After Storms

Join the METRANS Transportation Consortium, USC Price School of Public Policy's transportation research center for a seminar with guest speake Dr. Karl Kim from the National Disaster Preparedness Training Center based at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Lunch provided!

About the talk:

This talk will review recent research focused on transportation planning and resilience following storms and disruptions and strategies for damage assessment, response and recovery. In addition to reviewing the work of the National Disaster Preparedness Training Center, the presentation will also cover work with the Pacific Southwest Region 9 University Transportation Center (PSR-UTC) on transportation resilience on preparedness for the recent 2026 FIFA World Cup games where Kim worked with emergency managers, transportation agencies, and stadium operators to assess risks and mitigate hazards from extreme heat, lightning, tornado, flash flooding and wildfire and air quality hazards. AI tools and platforms were integrated and lessons learned for application to other large scale events such as the upcoming Olympics and Paralympic Games in LA and other cities will be discussed. Opportunities for further transdisciplinary research connecting the safe, efficient, and just movements of people, goods and services and ideas will be discussed.

About the speaker:

Karl Kim, PhD is Professor of Urban and Regional Planning, Director of the graduate program on Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance at the University of Hawaii. At the University of Hawaii, he holds appointments in the School of Architecture and the Center for Korean Studies. He is the founding Executive Director of the National Disaster Preparedness Training Center (NDPTC). Dr. Kim is an internationally recognized expert in risk management, urban planning and transportation. He is Editor of Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives (TRIP) published by Elsevier and an Associate Editor for Progress in Disaster Science. Dr Kim is also writing and editing a 10 volume series on disaster risk reduction for Routledge Press. He was educated at Brown University and MIT.