In the News: Engineer and economist discuss Japan’s tsunami

Two Lehigh faculty members were interviewed last week by The Philadelphia Inquirer for an article on the earthquake and tsunami that struck northeastern Japan on March 11.

Frank R. Gunter, associate professor of economics, spoke on his experiences as a Marine colonel who took part in the 2004 tsunami relief effort in Indonesia. Despite our humanitarian urge to help, he said, food and clothing donations are not much help.

Clay J. Naito, associate professor of structural engineering, discussed his work with Japanese researchers on tsunami evacuation centers, a project funded by the National Science Foundation. Naito studies the force and flow of the tsunamis and the debris they carry.

The article was titled “Gravity of disaster registers with U.S. scientists.”