PSU Magazine Spring 2005

& 0 U N D T H E PA R K What do you do when temperatures sore? When temperatures sizzle, what do people in Portland do: crank up their air conditioning, drive LO an indoor mall , or lay out in a backyard kiddy pooP What do people in Houston do (and don't forget they have the added whammy of high humidity)7 Air quality, energy consumption, and public policy could all be affected by the answers to these questions. David Sailor, a mechanical and materials engineering professor, is leading a team of researchers working on a project titled "Complex lnterac– tions Among Urban Climate, Air Quality, and Adaptive-Reactive Human Response ." Portland and Houston are the focuses of the four-year, $1.7 mil– lion project. The scientists will study how residents of those cities behave during adverse weather conditions or in response Lo health advisories , and how that human response in tum affects urban climate and air quality. Ci. ti.es often develop policies during heat waves or episodes of poor air qual– ity, but don't take into account the potential interactions or measure out– comes, says Sailor. For example, Port– land drivers are encouraged to carpool or use mass transit on days when the air quality is particularly bad. This seems to make sense, but no one really knows how effective it is in redirecting behav– ior or culling down on air pollution. "An improved understanding of these interactions wi.11 enable the development and implementation of improved policies and advisory systems," says Sailor. BLOCKS Top posts filled President Dan Bernstine recently appointed two familiar faces Lo the University's top administrative posts. Roy Koch, a PSU faculty member since 1982 , was named provost, and Lindsay Desrochers will return as vice presi– dem for Finance and Administration. Koch , who holds faculty positions in both Civil and Environmental Engi– neering and Environmemal Sciences and Resources (ESR) , is director of the ESR program. Desrochers is vice chan– cellor for administration at University of California, Merced , and held the vice president position al Portland State from 1991 lo 1995. Koch replaces imerim provost Michael Reardon. Desrochers replaces Cathy Dyck, who has been serving as interim vice presidem. Northwest learns from East Asias deadly tsunami As Cun Peterson, professor of geology, surveyed the reach of the tsunami that hit the coast of southeast India, he couldn't help but compare il lo the geological deposits he's observed on the Oregon coast. He has seen sand deposits-the telltale signs of a long– ago tsunami-three times as far inland as those in lndia. With the loss of life and property so great in lndia, the possible threat LO Oregon's coastal communities took on new meaning. Peterson was pan of an international team of scientists allowed imo lndia just a week after the tsunami disaster. They investigated the tsunami's dynam– ics and resulting flooding, comparing il lo computer models of possible tsunami paths in the Pacific Northwest. The scientists found that while the height of the waves rose only 9 to 12 feet above mean tide level, it proved devastating Lo the residems who had built homes and businesses just a cou– ple feet above sea level. Buildings 2 PSU MAGAZINE SPRI G 2005 imploded and the resu lting debris was deadly. Standing water from the floods-reaching distances of 600 feet from the beach-were fatal to some children. A PSU geologist got a firsthand look at the tsunami devastation in India. The kind of earthquake that occurred in December always pro– duces a tsunami , says Peterson. However, the very word , tsunami, was unfamiliar to the people of lndia and most of its officials. lls warning signs-a subduction zone earthquake in Sumatra and receding ocean levels in India two hours later-wem unheeded, he says. "We and the Japanese are partly to blame. We could have brought this infonnation Lo them about the hazard and how to prepare for evac– uation, but we didn't," says Peterson. The massive quake that caused the tsunami came from oceanic plates simi lar in geology Lo those off the Washington, Oregon, and northern California coasts, says Peterson, adding that the devasta– tion of Indonesia's coast, which was harder hit than India's, is a beuer example of what could happen LO Oregon's coastal communities.