UMaine to host emergency management, homeland security, computing conference

The University of Maine will host the third annual conference of the U.S. chapter of The International Emergency Management Society (TIEMS) June 12–16.

This year, presentations and interactive sessions offered by U.S. and international experts will focus on “Emergency Management, Homeland Security, and Computing.”

The five-day event also will provide networking opportunities for attendees and speakers. The conference will end with an all-day excursion to Acadia National Park.

Among the featured speakers will be K. Harald Drager, a founding member and current president of TIEMS. Drager, who has extensive experience in emergency and risk management, now acts as the managing director of Quasar Invest AS, a consultancy in global safety, emergency and disaster management in Norway.

Also featured will be TIEMS USA President Kay C. Goss. Goss is a founder and president of the Council on Accreditation of Emergency Management Education and former associate director of national preparedness, training, and exercises at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Goss is on the part-time faculty at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas’ Executive Crisis and Emergency Management master’s program, and is a Fellow at the National Academy of Public Administration.

UMaine’s George Markowsky, a professor of computer science and director of the Cybersecurity Lab in the School of Computing and Information Science, also is scheduled to speak. Markowsky teaches cybersecurity, coaches the UMaine Cyber Defense Team, and is a member of the TIEMS USA Board.

TIEMS was established in 1993 in Washington, D.C., and provides a platform for stakeholders within the global emergency and disaster management community to meet, network and learn about best practices, as well as new technical and operational methodologies. TIEMS works to improve the global community’s ability to avoid, mitigate, respond to, and recover from natural and manmade disasters.

More information about the conference, including a complete list of speakers and presentations, can be found on the TIEMS USA website.