Currently working in the Extreme Events Research Group
Marlon Phillips
Hello, my name is Marlon Phillips from Lake Orion, Michigan. I am currently a junior undergraduate student, majoring in Urban and Regional Planning with a minor in Geographic Information Systems (GIS). My interests include music, running, and traveling. My academic interests are in transportation planning as well as the application of GIS in urban and regional planning solutions. Last summer, I had the opportunity to study in China, Korea and Japan and view how these countries are planning for economic growth and sustainability.
I am a 2010 McNair Scholar and will be working with Dr. Kassens and the Extreme Events Research Group studying the spread of pandemic diseases. I also participate in various student activities such as Urban and Regional Planning Student Association, Charles Drew Advisory Board and International TA Buddy Program.
Tatsuya Fukushige
I am a Master’s student from Japan in Urban and Regional Planning. I have a Bachelor’s degree in Economic Policy Studies from Rikkyo University, Japan (2010). As an undergraduate, I studied in Sungkonghoe University, Korea, as an exchange student in my junior year. My area of interest is transportation planning.
Currently I am studying urban planning for disaster mitigation, especially in Tokyo. I have learned how Tokyo Metropolitan Government has prepared for the next big earthquake, from perspectives of open spaces and transportation planning.
Darilis Vázquez Ramos
I am I was born and grew up in Puerto Rico, where I got my bachelor's degree in Humanities from the University of Puerto Rico. In the Extreme Events Research Group, I will be working with Professors Kassens-Noor and Hinojosa on how countries in the Caribbean region plan for extreme events such as severe weather. (no pic)
Josh Vertalka
Hi, my name is Josh Vertalka. I grew up in a very small town called Onekama in Northern Michigan. Here, I spend a majority of my time outdoors doing everything from camping to hunting. Being from a small town I was able to participate in basketball and track. After graduation I attended Western Michigan University and later graduated with a bachelor of science in geography. Now I am a graduate student at Michigan State University, working with Dr. Eva Kassens and the Extreme Events Research Group.
During my tenure with Dr. Kassens, I have been focusing on various large scale research aspects of transportation and system vulnerability from natural disasters. This research includes: the introduction of high-speed rail along the Wolverine (Chicago to Detroit) corridor, geographic information systems, trip satisfaction and reliability studies, transportation vulnerability to disasters, 2010 South Africa World Cup transportation studies, and urban vulnerability and adaption to hurricanes.
Graduates
Ann Sojka
graduated with a B.S. in Urban Planning (2011) and is originally from West Lafayette, Indiana. Her main academic interests include public transportation systems and transportation management during disasters. In the Extreme Events Research Group, she worked on the Olympic Games from a sustainability perspective. Other projects have included researching and compiling reports on Florida and New Orleans Hurricane transportation management plans, and the South Africa World Cup. She also interviewed city transportation directors on the issue of Michigan High Speed Rail, assisted in designing a survey on Detroit transport preferences, and used SPSS to organize data.
