Deployed to Haiti, Civil Engineering professor, Reginald DesRoches, knows that red, yellow and green are more than primary colors – they designate whether a key infrastructure building is still usable. Along with a team of experts, DesRoches, is assessing critical buildings to determine if they are safe to reoccupy. “Red means unsafe, green is safe and yellow is in between,” says DesRoches. Looking at hospitals, schools, U.N. facilities, government buildings, and buildings occupied by various nations’ ambassadors will be the main targets of DesRoches work.  Along with his experience in the area of dealing with structures in the wake of an earthquake, DesRoches was born in Haiti.

DesRoches’ research, service, and professional interests center on the development of mitigation strategies to reduce the risks from earthquakes, particularly, earthquakes in the central and southeastern United States.  His specific research interests include seismic resistant design and retrofit of bridges, protective systems for buildings and bridges, performance of transportation networks, and structural applications of smart materials.  He was recently appointed to the Disasters Roundtable of the National Academies. As a unit of the Division on Earth and Life Studies (DELS), the Disasters Roundtable facilitates and enhances the exchange of ideas among scientists, practitioners, and policymakers in order to identify urgent and important issues related to the understanding and mitigation of natural disasters, technological disasters, and other disasters.