FIU experts are available to discuss the 2026 hurricane season

Hugh E. Willoughby

Distinguished Research Professor, Retired
Earth and Environment
Institute of Environment
College of Arts, Sciences & Education

Willoughby continues to study tropical cyclone structure, intensity, and impacts after retiring from FIU in 2025. He has flown more than 400 missions into the eyes of hurricanes and typhoons as a meteorologist for the federal government. Willoughby was a research meteorologist at the Hurricane Research Division of NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, where he worked since 1975 and served as director from 1995 until 2002. Willoughby also served on the Florida Commission on Hurricane Loss Projection Methodology and has extensive knowledge of hurricane impacts and insurance. 

Office: 305-342-9188
Email: hewil45@gmail.com

Haiyan Jiang

Professor
Earth and Environment
College of Arts, Sciences & Education

Jiang is a meteorologist with research interests in hurricane intensity, intensity change and structures of inner-core convection and precipitation. Jiang’s expertise is in satellite remote sensing techniques that can detect various characteristics of weather systems. She successfully applied these technologies to study hurricane rainfall, convection, winds, and warm-core structures. A coherent theme of her research is to advance our understanding of hurricane intensity and intensity change. She developed long-term satellite-based tropical cyclone databases and used these tools to study the climatology of hurricanes and to develop algorithms for estimating current intensity and predicting rapid intensification of tropical cyclones. Her research on hurricane intensity estimation, rapid intensification prediction, and climatology of hurricane inner-core structures has been funded by federal agencies including NSF, NOAA and NASA.

View more information on Dr. Jiang's research

Office: 305-348-2984
Email:  haiyan.jiang@fiu.edu

Ping Zhu

Professor
Earth and Environment
College of Arts, Sciences & Education

Zhu is a meteorologist whose research interests are in hurricanes, atmospheric convection, boundary layer, and numerical modeling. Using innovative numerical and observational methods, he characterizes the turbulence structure and quantifies turbulent transport in the hurricane boundary layer critical to the storm evolution. His research funded by NSF and NOAA addresses key issues on the representation of sub-grid-scale physical processes in numerical models and the improvement of forecasting skill by NOAA's operational models used for predicting hurricanes.

Office: 305-348-7096
Email:zhup@fiu.edu

Erik Salna

Meteorologist and Associate Director for Education and Outreach
Extreme Events Institute (EEI) & International Hurricane Research Center (IHRC)

Salna works with the Wall of Wind research team and coordinates education and outreach activities. He has experience as a broadcast meteorologist and within both non-profit and for-profit environments in meteorology, mitigation, preparedness, education, media and EOC activations. Before EEI & IHRC, he worked at America’s Emergency Network, which focused on live video streaming technology. He also served as project coordinator for the non-profit Hurricane Warning at the Disaster Survival House, located in Deerfield Beach. He also served as hazard mitigation manager for the City of Deerfield Beach, was on the city’s crisis activation team and participated in all activations of the emergency operations center.
Salna testified before the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology on the importance of storm preparedness, the forecasting workforce and fostering a Weather-Ready Nation (WRN).

Office: 305-348-1146

Email:  Erik.Salna@fiu.edu 

Kevin Grove

Associate Professor of Geography
Global and Sociocultural Studies
Steven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs

Grove, a political geographer studies resilience, vulnerability, adaptation, environmental security, development, and how human-environment relations are governed in the context of contemporary crises. By examining everyday practices of governance shapes how we create truths about the world and act in the world, and the techniques deployed to create and contest those truth claims. This came about through his work in disaster resilience and emergency management in Jamaica.

Office: 305-348-3343
Email: kgrove@fiu.edu

Maria Ilcheva

Associate Director
Jorge M. Perez Metropolitan Center
Steven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs

Ilcheva is investigating how prepared Floridians are to face hurricanes and how they use information toward their preparations. Ilcheva is examining the measures residents, businesses and public officials are taking to mitigate the effect of hurricanes and what barriers exist to implement optimal preparedness. Ilcheva’s hurricane research focuses on the real and perceptual changes in homeowners insurance. Ilcheva specializes in the administration of surveys, polls and interviews, data analysis and reporting.

Cell: 954-438-8652
Email: milcheva@fiu.edu

N. Emel Ganapati

Director, Laboratory for Social Science Research, International Hurricane Research Center, Extreme Events Institute
Public Policy and Administration
Steven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs

Ganapati studies disaster management, citizen participation/community empowerment, and international development administration. Her principal focus is on post-disaster recovery, a topic that has received very little attention in the public administration discipline.  Currently, Ganapati leads an interdisciplinary social science team, including two alumni, searching for answers to the 2021 Surfside condo collapse. Their effort will collect oral histories of survivors, eyewitnesses and first responders to gain a deeper understanding of issues associated with the disaster. 

Office: 305-348-0436
Email: ganapat@fiu.edu

Pallab Mozumder

Professor
Earth and Environment & Economics
Institute of Environment
College of Arts, Sciences & Education

Mozumder is an environmental economist with expertise in socio-economic aspects of natural hazards. His research on hurricane risk mitigation and evacuation behavior has been funded by federal and state agencies such as the National Science Foundation, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Florida Department of Community Affairs and Florida Sea Grant.

Office: 305-348-7146
Email:mozumder@fiu.edu

Robert M. Jorge

Senior Director
Division of Operations and Safety
Academy for International Disaster Preparedness

Jorge has had over three decades of leadership experience at the City of Miami Fire Rescue Department and Miami Dade College. He has served as an Assistant Fire Chief and brings expertise that spans through Emergency Incident Management, Emergency Medical Services (EMS), and academic program development. He has been involved with local, state and federal agencies during most local major disasters that have occurred in the last 30 years.

Cell: 305-348-5153
Email: rjorge@fiu.edu

Mark J. Macgowan

Associate Dean of Academic Affairs
Professor of Social Work
Robert Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work

As a licensed therapist, Macgowan has served as a disaster mental health worker with the American Red Cross and currently serves as a behavioral health specialist with a federal Disaster Medical Assistance Team. Recent Florida deployments include Hurricane Michael in the Panhandle and Hurricane Ian on the Southwest Coast. Macgowan teaches FIU’s only graduate course on disaster mental health and trains health professionals internationally on best practices related to psychosocial response to mass casualty events. His research advances effective practices related to well-being and disasters, which include systematic reviews of therapies for people affected by mass casualty events. His recent federally funded projects include establishing a hurricane response technical assistance center serving Miami‐Dade and Escambia Counties, Florida, and social science data collection related to the Champlain Towers South building collapse in Surfside, Florida.

Cell: 305-348-0427
Email:  macgowan@fiu.edu

Arindam Chowdhury

Professor and Chair
PI and Director, NHERI Wall of Wind (WOW) Experimental Facility
Extreme Events Institute
Civil and Environmental Engineering

Chowdhury is an internationally recognized expert in wind engineering, resilient infrastructure and hurricane mitigation. He leads FIU’s NSF-supported NHERI Wall of Wind (WOW) Experimental Facility, a world-renowned tropical cyclone simulator used to study how hurricanes impact buildings, infrastructure and coastal communities. His research focuses on structural resilience, sustainable infrastructure, extreme wind effects and innovative technologies that reduce hurricane damage and improve post-storm recovery. Chowdhury also serves as principal investigator for FIU’s National Institute for Coastal and Harbor Infrastructure Research and Education (NICHE), advancing interdisciplinary research and workforce development focused on coastal resilience, climate adaptation and sustainable infrastructure systems. His work has helped strengthen building codes, improve hazard mitigation strategies and develop patented technologies designed to reduce storm impacts and support energy resilience during disasters. His research has been supported by NSF, NOAA, DOE, Florida Sea Grant and other federal and state agencies.

Phone: 305-348-0518
Email:  chowdhur@fiu.edu

Jack Puleo

Dean
Associate Vice President of Research for Strategic Initiatives in Coastal Engineering and Resilience
Office of Research and Economic Development (ORED)
College of Engineering and Computing

Puleo is a nationally recognized expert in coastal engineering and environmental resilience. His research focuses on coastal processes, hydrodynamics, sediment transport, wave run-up and nature-based shoreline resilience, with applications that help communities prepare for and recover from hurricanes, storm surge and coastal flooding. He has published more than 100 peer-reviewed journal articles and secured more than $30 million in sponsored research funding across projects supported by major federal agencies. Puleo also leads strategic resilience initiatives tied to FIU’s National Full-Scale Testing Infrastructure for Community Hardening in Extreme Wind, Surge, and Wave Events (NICHE), advancing interdisciplinary solutions for resilient coastal infrastructure and climate adaptation. Prior to joining FIU, he served as chair of the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering at the University of Delaware and directed the Center for Applied Coastal Research.

Email:  jpuleo@fiu.edu 

Ioannis Zisis

Associate Professor
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Extreme Events Institute

Zisis is an expert in structural and environmental wind engineering, with a focus on how wind affects the built environment. His research combines small- and full-scale experimental testing, structural monitoring, and advanced analytical and numerical methods to improve building design and resilience to wind hazards. With a background in natural hazards engineering, he examines not only the structural impacts of wind but also environmental implications and overall system performance. His work extends to the macro scale, exploring how buildings and infrastructure interact within modern urban centers striving for sustainability and resilience in a changing climate.

Office: 305-348-4869
Email: izisis@fiu.edu 

Jayantha Obeysekera

Research Professor
Director of Sea Level Solutions
Institute of Environment
College of Arts, Sciences & Education

Obeysekera can talk about hurricanes as they relate to sea level rise, climate change, flooding and water management. He previously served as chief modeler at the South Florida Water Management District, where he had a leading role in modeling of the Everglades and Kissimmee River and Everglades restoration projects. He was co-author of the sea level rise projections report published by NOAA for the National Climate Assessment. He also co-authored a report on regional sea level projections for Department of Defense facilities across the globe. He has extensive media experience, including print and broadcast.

Henry Briceño

Research Professor
Institute of Environment
College of Arts, Sciences & Education

Briceño can talk about hurricane impacts regarding waters in coastal and estuarine areas. For over 20 years, Briceño has been leading water quality monitoring efforts at FIU. He focuses on how our changing climate is impacting our waterways and the impacts that people and nature have on our ecological systems. Briceño leads the institute’s Water Quality Monitoring Network. 

Briceño is available for interviews in English and Spanish.

Office: 305-348-1269
Email: bricenoh@fiu.edu

Stephen Leatherman

Professor
Earth and Environment
Institute of Environment
College of Arts, Sciences & Education

Leatherman is professor in the FIU department of Earth & Environment. Known as “Dr. Beach” for his annual rankings of U.S. beaches, Leatherman’s major research focuses on storm impacts, including beach erosion and rip currents. He has given expert testimony to U.S. Congressional committees several times on issues such as coastal storm impacts and federal disaster response. He was the review coordinator for the National Academy of Sciences & Engineering for the federal study of the breaching of the New Orleans levees and flooding by Hurricane Katrina. 

Phone: 305-238-5888.
Email: leatherm@fiu.edu

Shimon Wdowinski

Professor
Earth and Environment
Institute of Environment
College of Arts, Sciences & Education

Wdowinski is an expert in spaced geodesy, natural hazards and sea level rise. His research has focused on the development and usage of space geodetic techniques that can detect very precisely small movements of the Earth’s surface. Wdowinski has successfully applied these techniques to study tectonic plate motion, earthquakes, land subsidence, sinkhole activities, wetland hydrology, climate change and sea level rise.

Office: 305-348-6826
Email:  swdowins@fiu.edu

Randall Parkinson

Research Associate Professor
Institute of Environment
College of Arts, Sciences & Education

Parkinson has spent the past 40 years researching the effects of climate change and urbanization on the resiliency of the human, built and natural environments of the Northern Gulf of Mexico, Peninsular Florida, Georgia Bight, and the wider Caribbean. He is focused on ensuring the results of his research are conveyed in a way that can be understood and applied by the broadest array of stakeholders and practitioners who are responsible for the management of our coastal resources. Parkinson has conducted numerous vulnerability assessments to quantify the effects of climate change, including rising temperature, changes in precipitation, increasing storminess, acidification, and sea-level rise, on the coastal zone and has developed adaptation action plans designed specifically to reduce climate-related risks to the human, built and natural environment. 

Phone: 321-373-0976
Email:  rparkins@fiu.edu

Amal Elawady

Assistant Professor
Civil and Environmental Engineering
College of Engineering and Computing

Elawady is a Fellow of FIU’s Extreme Event Institute and a co-PI of the NHERI Wall of Wind Experimental Facility (WOW) at FIU. Elawady’s expertise is in the area of wind effects on built environment. Her studies involve large-scale wind tunnel testing, wind effects analysis to examine structural response, and design of structures against extreme wind events including hurricanes and non-synoptic downburst winds. Elawady is the recipient of the Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) Award from the National Science Foundation. She also received FIU College of Engineering Research award for excellence in research and creative activities.

Office: 305-348-0256
Email:aelawady@fiu.edu

Eli Beracha

Director
Tibor and Sheila Hollo School of Real Estate Faculty
College of Business

An investment consultant with over 20 years of practical real-world experience, Beracha has worked with real estate development projects, acquisition and disposition decisions, and real estate funds. Over the years, he has published dozens of academic papers in leading real estate and finance journals, including the Journal of Real Estate Literature. He’s also managing editor of the Journal of Real Estate Practice and Education and is an elected member of the board of directors of the American Real Estate Society.

Cell: 785-841-4470
Email: eberacha@fiu.edu

William Hardin

Dean, College of Business
Knight Ridder Eminent Scholar, Tibor and Sheila Hollo Fellow
Eminent Scholar, Tibor and Sheila Hollo School of Real Estate

Hardin is a recognized expert on commercial real estate markets, financial markets and securitized real estate. A member of the board of directors of the American Real Estate Society, he has authored or co-authored some 70 papers on varied topics in commercial real estate investment, including REIT governance and financial structure. Hardin is co-editor of the Journal of Real Estate Practice and Education and of the Journal of Real Estate Research. He is an elected member of the board of directors of the American Real Estate Society.

Cell: 954-298-8675 
Email: hardinw@fiu.edu

Deanne Butchey

Associate Teaching Professor
Finance
College of Business

Before joining FIU, Butchey worked as an Investment Banker and Financial Services Stock Research Analyst at Credit Suisse First Boston in their Toronto offices. Prior to this, she was a stockbroker at Scotia McLeod and Merrill Lynch in Toronto. Butchey performs research in Environmental, Social, and Governance Investing and Analysis including CEO compensation and Sustainability issues.

Office: (305) 348-7238
Email:  butcheyd@fiu.edu

Mark Del Pezzo

Associate Teaching Professor
Finance
College of Business

Del Pezzo is a CFA and former investment banker and portfolio manager for numerous depository institutions and trust departments. The courses he teaches include advanced investments and financial management. He has worked as a portfolio manager at both Raymond James and Deutsch Bank.

Office: 305-348-8459
Email: mdelpezz@fiu.edu

Aileen Izquierdo

Associate Teaching Professor
Program Director, Global Strategic Communications master’s degree program
College of Communication, Architecture & the Arts

Izquierdo is a communications professional with more than 25 years of strategic communications, branding and crisis communications experience in private and public sector organizations. She has held several executive and management positions throughout her career, including serving as vice president for communications and marketing at multiple institutions. Izquierdo is the Director of the School of Communication at Florida International University and is part of the faculty. She also oversees the Global Strategic Communications master’s degree program at FIU. She was the founding director of the School of Communication. 

Izquierdo is available for interviews in English and Spanish.

Email: aiizquie@fiu.edu

Dulce M. Suarez

Assistant Director 
Academy for International Disaster Preparedness 
Robert Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work 

Suarez is an expert in crisis and disaster management with more than 10 years of experience in disaster response, recovery and resilience. She has coordinated efforts during major declared disasters, including Hurricane Wilma, Hurricane Ivan, Hurricane Matthew and the 2010 Haiti earthquake. At FIU, her work has focused on hurricane mitigation research and disaster preparedness projects at the local and state levels, along with broader initiatives in resiliency and humanitarian response. 

Office:  305-348-0451
Email: dboza@fiu.edu 

Attila J. Hertelendy 

Healthcare Systems and Disaster, Emergency Management Expert 
Assistant Professor
College of Business and Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine 

Attila J. Hertelendy is a leading international authority on hurricane preparedness and disaster management. An aassistant pprofessor at FIU College of Business and Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, he has dedicated his career to understanding how health systems, communities, and governments prepare for, respond to, and recover from catastrophic disasters such as hurricanes, wildfires, and other natural hazards. With more than 150 peer-reviewed publications, Dr. Hertelendy's research has appeared in the world's most prestigious journals;  including  TheLancet, JAMA, the International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, and directly informs federal emergency policy and hospital resilience planning across the United States, and globally. 

Office:  561-818-4862
Email: ahertele@fiu.edu 

Suzanne Bagnera

Program Director of Executive Education 
Assistant Professor
Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management 

Bagneracan speak to hospitality’s role in disaster preparedness, emergency lodging operations, mass feeding, field kitchen operations, guest communication during crises, service recovery, and workforce readiness during hurricane response and recovery. She isalso a part of the anticipated development of FIU’s Disaster Dining: Field Kitchen Operations program, focused on feeding operations, limited-resource kitchens, logistics, and hospitality leadership during disaster events. 

Office:  305-919-4775
Email: sbagnera@fiu.edu

Sheilla L. Rodríguez Madera

Professor
Global & Sociocultural Studies
Steven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs

Sheilla Rodríguez Madera (or Sheilla R. Madera) as the former executive director of the Puerto Rico Violence Prevention Commission and former president of the Puerto Rico Psychological Association. Her research endeavors primarily revolve around contexts characterized by economic and natural disasters, with a particular emphasis on the unique challenges of Puerto Rico. Her research interests extend to areas including migration, access to healthcare, and the vital role communities play in developing resistance strategies related to health.

Office:  305-348-3672
Email: shrodrig@fiu.edu

Nelson Varas-Diaz

Professor
Global & Sociocultural Studies 
Steven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs

Varas-Díaz’s research examines the role of extremity in society through the lenses of health and illness, natural and human-made disasters, and communal cultural practices. His research focuses on documenting: physician migration and its impact on healthcare systems in disaster-affected contexts, the role of energy independence through solar panels in managing chronic diseases within marginalized communities, and communal acupuncture as a collective health-sustaining strategy. He is also deeply committed to employing visual methods, such as photovoice and documentary filmmaking, as communal research strategies.

Email: nelson.varasdiaz@fiu.edu