HRRC Leadership, Fellows & Affiliates

Who we are

The HRRC is a network of faculty, researchers, students, and staff interested in hazard and disaster issues. HRRC connects faculty across Texas A&M University who conduct research related to hazards and disasters through our faculty fellow program, with core faculty fellows who dedicate the majority of the research to hazard topics. We also have HRRC faculty and research affiliates across many institutions who support the mission of the center and collaborate with us on various projects. Current PhD and Masters students who are working on research grants with HRRC faculty are listed below. Undergraduate research assistants are included with the research projects they worked on, and alumni of the center listed show the great work happening due in part to the center’s educational programs.

See Media Information for HRRC members by topic area.

Join the HRRC Family 

Faculty, staff, and students associated with the HRRC receive access to research and engagement opportunities to support their career development. If you are interested in joining the center, please contact Dr. Michelle Meyer at 979.845.7813 or mmeyer@arch.tamu.edu.

Staff

  • Alexander Abuabara, Instructional Assistant Professor
    Research Interest: GIS, spatial modeling
  • David Bierling, Director of Transportation
    Research Interest: Hazardous materials transportation analysis, port infrastructure, operations and environmental issues, emergency response equipment test and evaluation
  • Deidra Davis, Director of Access and Recruitment
    Research Interest: Environmental justice, community engagement, public policy and land use 
  • Seth Jordan, Program Coordinator II & Director of Education
    Research Interest: Workforce development, K-12 education, environmental justice
  • Matthew Malecha, PIRS Lab Director
    Research Interest: Community resilience, mitigation planning, environmental planning
  • Jaimie Masterson, Director of Engagement
    Research Interest: Community engagement, plan evaluation, government and public policy, research communication, environmental justice
  • Michelle Annette Meyer, Director, 2019 – Present
    Research Interest: Disaster recovery, environmental justice and equity, volunteering/emergent groups, nonprofit response to disaster, inequality, social capital in disaster, survey research, qualitative research
  • Galen Newman, Liaison with the Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning
    Research Interest: Urban regeneration, land use science, spatial analytics, urban flood resilience 
  • Walter Gillis Peacock, Senior Fellow, Previous Director
    Research Interest: Sustainability & resiliency issues, hazard mitigation & adaptation, mitigation policy, building codes, housing recovery, long-term disaster recovery, survey research, quantitative methods
  • George Rogers, Senior Fellow, Previous Director
    Research Interest: Sustainability, risk analysis and planning, technology and society, quantitative methods
  • Nathanael Rosenheim, Director of Research
    Research Interest: Spatial modeling, data science, community development, food system planning
  • Jeewasmi Thapa, Engagement Specialist 
    Research Interest: Community engagement, comprehensive planning for resilience, recovery, community development, inclusive planning, community-university partnerships.
  • John Thomas Cooper Jr., Director of Outreach
    Research Interest: Civic engagement, community development, disaster planning/policy 
  • Shannon Van Zandt, Senior Fellow
    Research Interest: Coastal resilience, social vulnerability to disasters, low-income housing, environmental equity, housing recovery planning
  • Doug Wunneburger, Mapping Lead
    Research Interest: Social impacts due to interactions of demographics, spatially explicit policies & laws, GIS methods

Core Faculty

  • John T. Cooper, Jr., Landscape Architecture & Urban Planning
    Research Interest: Civic engagement, community development, disaster planning/policy 
  • Mark Fossett, Emeritus Sociology
    Research Interest: Racial & ethnic relations, social inequality, social demography, urban sociology, statistical methods, quantitative techniques
  • Ivis Garcia, Landscape Architecture & Urban Planning
    Research Interest: Community engagement, housing and housing justice, and community development
  • Nasir Gharaibeh, Civil & Environmental Engineering
    Research Interest: Infrastructure condition assessment and deterioration modeling, participatory methods for infrastructure management, pavement design, preservation & management, infrastructure life-cycle analysis
  • Matthew Malecha, Landscape Architecture & Urban Planning 
    Research Interest: Community resilience, mitigation planning, environmental planning
  •  Jaimie Masterson, Texas Target Communities
    Research Interest: Community engagement, plan evaluation, local government and public policy, research communication, environmental justice 
  • Michelle Annette Meyer, Landscape Architecture & Urban Planning
    Research Interest: Disaster recovery, environmental justice and equity, volunteering/emergent groups, nonprofit response to disaster, research methods, social stratification and inequality, social capital in disaster, survey research, qualitative research
  • Galen Newman, Landscape Architecture & Urban Planning
    Research Interest: Urban regeneration, land use science, spatial analytics, urban flood resilience 
  • Walter Gillis Peacock, Landscape Architecture & Urban Planning
    Research Interest: Sustainability & resiliency issues, natural hazards, hazards mitigation & adaptation, mitigation policy, building codes, housing recovery, long-term disaster recovery, survey research, quantitative methods
  • George Rogers, Landscape Architecture & Urban Planning
    Research Interest: Sustainability, risk analysis & planning, technology and society, quantitative methods
  • Nathanael Rosenheim, Landscape Architecture & Urban Planning
    Research Interest: Spatial modeling, data science, community development, food system planning
  • Shannon Van Zandt, Landscape Architecture & Urban Planning
    Research Interest: Coastal resilience, social vulnerability to disasters, low-income housing, environmental equity, housing recovery
  • Douglas Wunneburger, Landscape Architecture & Urban Planning
    Research Interest: Social impacts due to interactions of demographics, spatially explicit policies & laws
  • Xinyue Ye, Landscape Architecture & Urban Planning
    Research Interest: Geographic Information System (GIS), big data, urban computing, data science 
  • Siyu Yu, Landscape Architecture & Urban Planning
    Research Interest: Community resilience, plan integration, land use and environmental planning, social vulnerability, hazard mitigation 

Faculty Fellows

Directors Emeritus

  • Michael Lindell, Director Emeritus
  • Dennis Wenger, Director Emeritus

Faculty & Research Affiliates

  • Kayode Atoba, TAMU at Galveston, The Institute for Disaster Resilient Texas
  • Amir Behzadan, University of Colorado-Boulder
  • Phil Berke, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Department of City and Regional Planning
  • Samuel Brody, TAMU at Galveston, The Institute for Disaster Resilient Texas
  • Noel M. Estwick, Prairie View A&M University, College of Agriculture & Human Sciences
  • Himanshu Grover, University of Washington, Department of Urban Design & Planning
  • Youngjib Ham, Seoul National University, Deptartment of Civil & Environmental Engineering
  • Sara Hamideh, Stony Brook University, School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences
  • Bryce Hannibal , RDC Administrator, Wasatch Front Research Data Center, U.S. Census Bureau
  • Marccus Hendricks, University of Maryland, College Park, Department of Urban Studies and Planning
  • Wesley E. Highfield, TAMU at Galveston, Department of Marine Science
  • Jen Horney, University of Delaware, Disaster Research Center
  • Shih-Kai (Sky) Huang, Jacksonville State University, Department of Emergency Management
  • Fayola Jacobs, University of Minnesota, Humphrey School of Public Affairs
  • Navid Jafari,  Louisiana State University, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
  • Laurie Johnson, Consulting & Research
  • Dawn Jourdan,  University of Maryland-College Park
  • Brant Mitchell, Louisiana State University, Stephenson Disaster Management Institute
  • Louis Ngamassi, Prairie View A&M University, MIS
  • Carlee Purdum, University of Houston, Department of Sociology, Hurricane Resilience Research Institute, and UH Population Health
  • Andrew Rumbach, Urban Institute’s Metropolitan Housing and Communities Policy Center
  • Jody Rosenblatt Naderi, Ball State University, Department of Landscape Architecture
  • Lori Peek, University of Colorado Boulder, Department of Sociology
  • Ronald W. Perry, Arizona State University, School of Public Affairs
  • Steven Quring, The Ohio State University, Department of Geography
  • Ashley Ross, TAMU-Galveston, Department of Marine Science
  • Jesse Saginor, Florida Atlantic University, School of Urban & Regional Planning
  • Keri Stephens, University of Texas-Austin, Department of Communications Studies
  • Laura Stough, professor emeritus, Texas A&M, Center on Disability and Development
  • Elaina Sutley, University of Kansas, Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering 
  • Courtney Thompson, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
  • Jennifer Tobin, University of Colorado Boulder, Natural Hazards Center
  • Hung Lung Wei, John Jay School of Criminal Justice (NY)
  • Tristan Wu, University of North Texas, Emergency Administration and Planning
  • Sierra Woodruff, Office of Glocal Change, U.S. State Department
  • Yu Xiao, Portland State University, Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning
  • Yue Ge, University of Central Florida, Department of Public Administration
  • Yang Zhang, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Department of Urban Affairs and Planning

Students

Doctoral Students

Masters Students

Undergraduate Research Fellows

HRRC Undergraduate Research Fellows are students who learn research skills while working with graduate students and faculty on funded research projects. These students then present their research through university and academic conferences.

  • Ximena Lino, Urban and Regional Planning.
  • Ryan Beaver, Urban and Regional Planning.

TX General Land Office Interns

The HRRC is supporting the TX General Land Office to recruit TAMU students for paid internships working on hazard management projects. We recruit students each semester. Find out more by contacting Seth Jordan.

Alumni

  • Romel Fernandez, Land Acquisition Analyst, Friendswood Development Company
  • Ryke Allen Moore, Senior Regional Flood Planner, Texas Water Development Board
  • Cooper Goodman, Management Analyst, City of Charlotte
  • Fareen Islam, Technical Assistance Director, City Parks Foundation
  • Abrina Williams, Green Infrastructure Program Manager, New Orleans Redevelopment Authority
  • Rachel Nettles, Assistant Planning Director, City of Mesa
  • Jared Briggs, Division Manager, Public Services Division of HCDD
  • Md Yousuf Reja, Assets & Data Analytics Manager, Harris County Engineering Department
  • Ashley Waggoner, Planner I, EHRA Engineering
  • John Hoang, Community Planner, Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command
  • Mykayla Marek, Transportation Planner I, North Front Range Metropolitan Planning Organization
  • Dr. Malini Roy, Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Arizona College of Architecture
  • Sofia Sierra Wagner, Planner III, City of Austin 
  • Hayle Yelle, Landscape Designer, Stantec
  • Dr. Joy Semien, Chief of Staff, EPA Region 6
  • Dr. Chandler Wilkins, Research Associate, Urban Institute’s Metropolitan Housing and Communities Policy Center
  • Dr. Jennifer Blanks, Geospatial Analyst, USDA Forest Service