Image of MarkAbkowitz

Mark Abkowitz

Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Expert in enterprise risk management, hazardous materials transportation, and impacts of extreme weather on infrastructure adaptation.

Biography

Mark Abkowitz specializes in enterprise risk management, hazardous materials transportation safety and security, assessing the impacts of extreme weather on infrastructure adaptation, and spatial analysis of freight transportation systems. He has authored more than one hundred publications on these topics, and has appeared on National Public Radio, Fox National News and CNBC to discuss issues of national importance. He has served as a researcher and consultant to a wide variety of businesses and government agencies.

Media Appearances

  • Climate adaptation is a necessity and no longer an option

    Wildfires, inland and coastal flooding, heat waves, droughts and other climate disasters have become seemingly daily occurrences, with no location on the planet immune to such threats. Many of these events have catastrophic consequences in terms of human casualties, property damage and environmental destruction. Beyond that, there are also indirect effects that can cripple an entire region, such as supply chain disruption, economic decline and loss of social connection.

    October 13th, 2020

  • It’s Hurricane Preparedness Week, and communities aren’t ready for both coronavirus and a disaster

    Hurricane season is only weeks away, and many communities are only now considering how to handle a large-scale disaster on top of the coronavirus pandemic.

    May 5th, 2020

Multimedia

VIDEO

Dr. Mark Abkowitz: Transportation Risk Assessment, Safety and Security

View Video
VIDEO

How do you manage a natural disaster during a pandemic?

View Video

Education

B.S., M.S., Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology



24/7 BROADCAST STUDIO

VUStar is a broadcast facility that links experts to you 24/7. The studio offers HD and SD transmission and an ISDN line for radio interviews. The studio, staffing and phone lines are free when using Vanderbilt experts.