The National Academy of Sciences Geographical Sciences Committee cordially invites you to the annual Gilbert F. White Lecture in the Geographical Sciences at The National Academy of Sciences Building in Washington, D.C. on December 4, 2014. The lecture will be given by Susan Cutter, Carolina Distinguished Professor of Geography at the University of South Carolina, and is entitled “Natural Hazards: Why More Knowledge Is Not Reducing Losses.”

Speaker Biography
Dr. Susan Cutter is a Carolina Distinguished Professor of Geography at the University of South Carolina and director of the university’s Hazards and Vulnerability Research Institute. Her primary research interests are in the area of disaster vulnerability/resilience science—what makes people and the places where they live vulnerable to extreme events and how vulnerability and resilience are measured, monitored, and assessed. She has authored or edited thirteen books, more than 150 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. Her latest book, Hurricane Katrina and the Forgotten Coast of Mississippi examines the post-disaster recovery along the coast and the role that historic, economic, and social factors play in producing the differential recovery that is so apparent today.

Dr. Cutter is the Co-Chair of IRDR Disaster Loss Data (DATA) Project and Director of IRDR’s International Centre of Excellence in Vulnerability and Resilience Metrics. Increasingly, scientists of the IRDR programme are thinking about suggesting new modes to connect scientific insights and behavioural change so as to ensure a better use of knowledge for risk reduction and resilience building.

More Information
The aim of the Gilbert F. White lecture series—developed with his blessing—is to focus on connections between the geographical sciences and society. It both honors Dr. White and uses his example as an inspiration for geographers to share their work on the connections between science and society.

Please visit http://dels.nas.edu/global/besr/GW-Lecture for more information.