Tricia Wachtendorf
Tricia Wachtendorf
Director, Disaster Research Center
Education
- Ph.D. – University of Delaware, Newark, DE
- M.A. – University of Delaware, Newark, DE
- B.A. – University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Biography
Tricia Wachtendorf, Ph.D., is a professor of sociology at the University of Delaware and director of UD's world-renowned Disaster Research Center – the oldest center in the world focused on the social science aspects of disaster. Over the past two decades, her research has focused on multi-organizational coordination before, during and after disasters, transnational crises, and social vulnerability to disaster events.
Wachtendorf has engaged in quick-response field work after such events as the 2001 World Trade Center attacks; the tsunamis affecting India, Sri Lanka (2004) and Japan (2011); Hurricanes Katrina (2005) and Sandy (2012); as well as the earthquakes in China (2008) and Haiti (2010).
With numerous research grants from agencies such as the National Science Foundation, Wachtendorf has published widely on improvisation in disasters as well as disaster convergence. Her most recent funded research projects examine the temporal nature of household and emergency management decision-making during hurricane events; investigate humanitarian logistics during disaster response; and explore stigma and the role of triage in the aftermath of public heath emergencies.
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Unsung heroes help LA fire survivors
January 22, 2025 | Written by Tricia Wachtendorf and James KendraNeighbors, strangers crucial to disaster response Note: Author Tricia Wachtendorf is a professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice, and author James Kendra is a professor in the Joseph R. Biden, Jr. School of Public Policy and Administration. -
Neighbors and strangers pulled together to help LA fire survivors – 60 years of research shows these unsung heroes are crucial to disaster response
January 20, 2025 | Written by Tricia Wachtendorf and James KendraDisaster Research Center co-directors Tricia Wachtendorf and James Kendra co-wrote a piece for The Conversation that analyzes the response and ongoing recovery during the wildfires through the lens of their research. -
The Cost of Surviving a Wildfire
January 16, 2025 | Written by The New York TimesThe New York Times interviewed Tricia Wachtendorf, director of UD's Disaster Research Center. She broke down the ways that wildfires and other disasters wreak financial damage on communities.
