Earthquake
The Tohoku-oki earthquake that shook Japan a year ago ranks as the fifth largest in history. Despite the 9.0-magnitude quake, Japan’s infrastructure systems held up well.
David Frost
Professor, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
As co-chair of the Geotechnical Extreme Event Reconnaissance Association, Frost organizes teams that survey the impact of major earthquakes around the globe. He most recently went to Japan to study the earthquake’s effects on the country’s infrastructure.
Zhigang Peng
Assoc. Professor, School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
Peng’s research focuses on the physics of earthquakes and the evolution of fault lines.
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Hear the Earthquake
Peng has converted the earthquake’s seismic waves into audio files, allowing audiences to “hear” what the quake sounded like as it moved through the earth. Click here to listen and learn more.
Tsunami
The earthquake churned up a devastating tsunami responsible for catastrophic damage and more than 90 percent of the 20,000 casualities.
Andrew Newman
Assoc. Professor, School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
Newman studies the Earth’s seismic and volcanic activity, gathering information from instruments around the globe.
Hermann Fritz
Assoc. Professor, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Fritz researches fluid dynamic aspects of natural hazards, their mitigation and coastal protection. He traveled to Japan several times since March 2011 to map the magnitude of the tsunami and its effect on the coast.
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Fritz has mapped the tsunami’s height and flood zones, using eyewitness video and laser scanners from atop vertical evacuation points.
Nuclear crisis
Still reeling from the earthquake and tsunami, Japan faced the world’s worst nuclear crisis in more than twenty-five years at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station.
Glenn Sjoden
Professor, Nuclear and Radiological Engineering
Sjoden is an expert in nuclear power systems and radiation detection applications. He has more than twenty-seven years of experience working in academia, industry, the private sector, and the military.
Marilyn Brown
Professor, School of Public Policy
Brown is a board member of the Tennessee Valley Authority and chair of the company’s Nuclear Oversight Committee.
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The Future of Nuclear Energy
Experts weigh in on the future of nuclear energy, following the incident at Fukushima Daiichi.
For more expert analysis go to: www.gatech.edu/japan/tech-experts
