The program will train students to use HAZUS-MH software, developed by the U.S. Homeland Security Agency. The software creates virtual models of floods in specific regions of Indiana, predicting the effects and potential damage.

The students will use the program to better understand natural disasters as part of their Business Fellows project. Under the direction of Fred Kitchens, an information systems professor in the Miller College of Business, the team is partnering with the Delaware County Emergency Management Agency to model multiple scenarios involving natural disasters using the university's cluster computer.

The Business Fellows program, funded by a $1.5 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. and coordinated by Ball State's Career Center, gives Ball State students the opportunity to turn academic knowledge into business solutions through intense, applied learning experiences that benefit an Indiana business, industry or organization. The program is a part of Ball State's Building Better Communities initiative.

Other participants in the program will include government employees involved in homeland security issues, emergency management personnel and selected representatives from private industry.
 
The Indiana Department of Homeland Security is sponsoring the event, which will be hosted by Ball State's Organizational Assurance and Information Security Center (OASIS) Center in the Department of Information Systems and Operations Management. The class will be in the Whitinger Business Building, room 204.

About Building Better Communities
Building Better Communities is an initiative designed to spur economic development and quality of life advancement in Indiana by applying Ball State's strengths in applied research and hands-on learning to projects across the state. Building Better Communities works to match the university's expertise and resources to the varied needs of Indiana communities.