In the wake of natural disasters, initial clean-up efforts often start as soon as it is safe to do so. For researchers looking to document damage, this means that they often make long trips on short notice to disaster sites in order to collect data that will be critical for determining best practices for how to repair and rebuild. Penn State researchers Rebecca Napolitano and Mariantonieta Gutierrez Soto lead groups of students and researchers from many academic backgrounds on trips in the aftermath of disasters to take a holistic view of the research and inform sustainability, equity, historic preservation and more.
Last December, an EF4 tornado with 180 miles per hour winds moved across Western Kentucky leaving behind catastrophic damage in numerous towns nearly leveling Mayfield. People across the Commonwealth and beyond jumped into action rallying around those who were left to pick up the pieces including an undergraduate student from the University of Kentucky.
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