NSBE - Winter 2009/2010 - 63

TeRRoR Is Real By Roger Witherspoon The Man to Call When the T world. His turf covers everything from the he scene on the hit TV show “24” was current swine flu virus to the coming hurriveting. ricane season. Dr. Washington, an industrial A deadly, weaponized infectious engineer, is the fix-it man whose expertise agent was in the hands of terroris needed after the medical or other experts ists, and the White House needed to determine what the exact threat will be, or know what the damage could be. The when measures are needed to prevent future president turned to a black man from the public health problems. The unit also hopes Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, NSBE member Michael L. Washington, to expand to nonemergency public health an expert who spelled out how far the prion Ph.D., is deputy director of the modeling issues, such as HIV, other chronic could travel, given the terrain, weather and Preparedness Modeling Unit of the Centers for Disease Control and diseases, environmental issues and maternal other factors. Prevention in Atlanta. An industrial and child health. If the scene were real, the president might engineer, he sets up the infrastructure then turn to Michael L. Washington, Ph.D., needed for effective disaster mitigation. deputy director of the CDC’s Preparedness ENGINEERING REquIREd Modeling Unit and ask, “What do we do now?” It may seem unusual to have an industrial “Well, it’s not exactly like television; I don’t get a call from engineer responsible for medical emergency preparedness. the president, but CDC does step in when a situation like this But consider the infrastructure needed for effective disaster arises,” Dr. Washington says. “The president calls the CDC and mitigation. other agencies seeking advice. And through normal chains of “Any intervention you do in public health will require recommand, it could eventually reach me. And that is when my sources, equipment, engineering and all the things we take into unit responds.” account in industrial planning,” Dr. Washington explains. “If Dr. Washington, a national expert on computer simulation there are going to be mass vaccinations this fall for the H1N1 and an Alumni member of NSBE, is responsible for figuring virus, for example, you need tables, space and security for the out how to combat the spread of radiation or biological agents clinics, and then all the equipment for the medicine — the vacand how to mitigate natural disasters. His goal is to help the cine itself, the needles, supplies, refrigerators and information affected region recover as quickly as possible through modeling systems to keep the information in a registry. On top of that, efforts, either within his unit or with other modelers around the there is staffing. Do you have enough people to Continued on page 64 www.nsbe.org • career engineer • winter 2009 • 63
NSBE - Winter 2009/2010

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