DERA Student Awards Program- Brochure

The Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Response Association DDiissaasstteerr PPrreeppaarreeddnneessss PPrroojjeeccttss Guidelines for Student Awards PURPOSE : The purpose of this program is to achieve improvements in community, regional, and national disaster preparedness and response capability. DERA Preparedness Project Awards are intended to encourage students at all levels to undertake projects which study the effects of disasters and evaluate preparedness/response alternatives, as well as to initiate preparedness or response improvements and mitigation efforts in the home, school, industry, or community. RECOGNITION AWARDS: DERA will award certificates of recognition (and in some cases medals and/or monetary awards) to students for meritorious research projects and field work. WHO IS ELIBIBLE TO RECEIVE AWARDS? Students of any age anywhere in the world are eligible. HOW TO APPLY FOR AN AWARD: 1. Any teacher, tutor, youth group leader, community official, fire chief, or DERA member may nominate a student for an award by sending the student's name and a brief summary of the project to DERA, along with a statement to the effect that the student's work is meritorious and deserving of recognition. The certificate will be sent to the person submitting the nomination for appropriate presentation to the student. 2. Coordinators of science, safety, and engineering fairs or similar organized competitions may request any reasonable number of blank certificates prior to the event and will be authorized to issue them as appropriate to deserving students. Following the event, coordinators should send DERA the names of students receiving the awards, and a brief description of their projects. WHAT TYPE OF PROJECTS QUALIFY FOR AWARD ? All commendable projects related to disaster preparedness, mitigation, response, recovery, or safety are eligible. Projects should be appropriate to the student's level of study. The following are a few examples of such projects: § Severe weather studies § Floodplain reviews and risk analyses § Home safety audits, or projects to reduce household hazards § Geological studies, seismic risks, volcanic effects § Community warning system evaluations or improvements § Historical analysis of risk factors, climate change, or transient phenomena § Environmental exposure measurements or materials safety studies § Constructing or operating weather stations, seismographs, or water level gauges § Water quality, food safety, and sanitation studies § Public safety, epidemiology and health studies § Communications systems for detection, warning, or incident management § Probability modeling or mathematical analysis of hazards, risks, or similar data § Reviewing apartment building fire plans or analyzing effectiveness of escape drills § Hazardous Materials (HAZMAT) studies or fire safety projects § Building, bridge, or dam engineering studies, safety verifications, and structural analyses OBTAINING AWARD MATERIALS: To nominate students for awards, or to obtain materials for organized events, please contact: DERA Awards Program PO Box 280795 Lakewood, CO 80228 (USA)