DePaul University faculty experts are available to provide expert commentary on the Japan disaster, including a historical perspective on the situation, the economic impact of the disaster and the role of technology and social media in locating family and friends.

Professors available to speak include:

Nezih Altay, associate professor, management, College of Commerce. He can talk about the economic impact of the Japan disaster on global supply networks, including the supply of consumer goods. He can be reached at (312) 362-8313 or naltay@depaul.edu.

Paul Booth, assistant professor, new media and technology, College of Communication. Booth can discuss the role that technology and social media is playing in disseminating news and information about the impact of the Japan earthquake and tsunami. Booth can be reached at (312) 362-7753 or pbooth@depaul.edu.

Kathryn C. Ibata-Arens, associate professor, political science. Ibata-Arens can provide a firsthand account of what it was like in Tokyo when the earthquake struck and in subsequent days. She also is an expert in Japanese political economy, high technology and innovation policies and comparative entrepreneurialism, emerging life science (biotechnology and medical devices) regions in Japan and the United States. She speaks fluent Japanese. She can be reached at (773) 325-4716, kibataar@depaul.edu or kibataar@gmail.com.

Barry Kellman, professor, College of Law. He can discuss environmental law and how it relates to pollution caused by nuclear facilities. He can be reached at (312) 362-5258 or bkellman@depaul.edu.

Yuki Miyamoto, assistant professor, religious studies. The daughter of survivors of Hiroshima who leads Study Abroad programs to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Miyamoto can give historical and personal perspective to the situation in Japan. She is currently leading an effort to provide iodine pills to children in Japan impacted by the radiation leaks. Miyamoto is also an active member of the international Mayors for Pease organization, which works to eliminate nuclear weapons. She is fluent in Japanese. She can be reached at (773) 325-4547 or ymiyamot@depaul.edu.

Thomas Murphy, professor emeritus, chemistry. Murphy can discuss some of the technical details of the plants, what went wrong and what is going wrong, the safety features of these nuclear power plants and comparisons to plants in the United States, and what the consequences of the situation in Japan might be. Former director of the environmental science program at DePaul. He can be reached at (773) 338-3165 or tmurphy@depaul.edu.

Kenneth Thompson, professor of management, College of Commerce. He can discuss the economic impact of the disaster, especially on the auto industry. He can also discuss the interdependency of suppliers and disaster planning and recovery. He can be reached at (312) 362-5211 or kthompso@depaul.edu.