NSF's Issues Grants To Learn The Lessons of Katrina

The National Science Foundation is funding research teams to go to the Gulf Coast region to draw as many lessons as possible from the Hurricane Katrina disaster before evidence is lost.

1 minute read

September 29, 2005, 12:00 PM PDT

By Chris Steins @planetizen


The National Science Foundation (NSF) has announced the first of several dozen grants to send research teams into the Gulf Coast regions devastated by Hurricane Katrina. These "rapid-response" teams will seek to draw as many lessons as possible from the disaster before evidence is lost and memories can fade.

Examples include:

  • group led by Raymond Seed of the University of California, Berkeley, will do an engineering analysis of why New Orleans' levee system failed;
  • group led by Robert Cook of Louisiana State University will analyze the complex mix of organic matter dissolved in New Orleans flood waters;
  • group led by Vishal Shah of Dowling College, New York will test a new chemical method for decontaminating flood waters;
  • group led by Bimal Paul of Kansas State University will study what factors led people to comply or not comply with mandatory orders to evacuate the area in advance of the hurricane.

    Thanks to Ashwani Vasishth

  • Thursday, September 29, 2005 in National Science Foundation

    portrait of professional woman

    I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

    I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

    Mary G., Urban Planner

    Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

    Aerial view of town of Wailuku in Maui, Hawaii with mountains in background against cloudy sunset sky.

    Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly

    Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

    July 1, 2025 - Honolulu Civil Beat

    Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

    Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

    A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

    July 2, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

    White and purple sign for Slow Street in San Francisco, California with people crossing crosswalk.

    San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths

    Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

    July 1, 2025 - KQED

    Google street view image of strip mall in suburban Duncanville, Texas.

    Adaptive Reuse Will Create Housing in a Suburban Texas Strip Mall

    A developer is reimagining a strip mall property as a mixed-use complex with housing and retail.

    2 hours ago - Parking Reform Network

    Blue tarps covering tents set up by unhoused people along chain link fence on concrete sidewalk.

    Study: Anti-Homelessness Laws Don’t Work

    Research shows that punitive measures that criminalized unhoused people don’t help reduce homelessness.

    4 hours ago - Next City

    Aerial tram moving along cable in hilly area in Medellin, Colombia.

    In U.S., Urban Gondolas Face Uphill Battle

    Cities in Latin America and Europe have embraced aerial transitways — AKA gondolas — as sustainable, convenient urban transport, especially in tricky geographies. American cities have yet to catch up.

    6 hours ago - InTransition Magazine