Andrea Hoplight Tapia
What I study
The world is experiencing more natural disasters. These disasters are occurring more frequently and are more severe than in the past. This increase in number, frequency, and severity also increases the impact these disasters have on human lives as we see growth in casualties, property damage, and displaced people.
I identify the structures and barriers that exist in technical crisis coordination in the disaster relief sector. My findings have led to the creation of principles and best practices for over 300 Humanitarian Information Managers worldwide.
I'm an internationally renowned scholar of crisis informatics: the study of information discovery, needs, use, and sharing in disaster or crisis settings
I study the ways that information technology impacts and is impacted by social, cultural, political, economic, and organizational structures. I am currently Professor of Information Sciences and Technology and head of the Social and Organizational Informatics Faculty at the Pennsylvania State University.
