People
Jen Henderson
Ph.D. RED Lab Founder & Director
I am a cultural geographer who works alongside practitioners in weather and climate extremes to identify ways to address systemic risks and harms in disasters. In the RED Lab, I lead efforts to co-produce a qualitative research infrastructure that helps us identify and address local hazards, archive and share complex datasets, secure funding for projects, and mentor students from diverse backgrounds.
Rodolfo Hernández-Pérez
Ph.D. RED Lab Co-Director
Anthropologist. Passionate about the social communication of ST&I. Researches the intersection of environmental governance and the co-production of science, technology, and innovation. At RED Lab, leads educational and digital strategies and mentors new researchers on qualitative and participatory research methods. Salsa music and dance lover.
Keely Patelski
Student Researcher
I am an undergraduate student at Texas Tech with a Mathematics major and an Atmospheric Science minor. At RED Lab, I assist with qualitative research methods and analysis. I am certified in Web Accessibility by W3Cx. I'm interested in studying severe weather and human geography.
Nusrat Zahan Jarin
Master Degree Student - Researcher
I am a graduate student and a teaching assistant in the Department of Geoscience at Texas Tech University. I have been assisting with disaster qualitative research methods and analysis at RED lab. My research interest is risk and vulnerability in sudden and slow onset disasters.
Bode
Master Degree Student - Researcher
Hello, I'm Bode and my master's is in geography and educational design. My work with RED Lab has been co-production of Envision: A Social Cartography Workshop and co-designing the student and teacher materials. My interests include science communication, graphic design, and empowering vulnerable communities via science and art! Outside of school I love making cosplays, hiking, and finding local artists and coffee shops when I travel.
Gisou Salkhi
PhD Student - Research
I am a Ph.D. student in the interdisciplinary program of Land-use planning, management, and design at Texas Tech University. My academic background is in Architectural Technology (Computational Design). I have a graduate certificate in Geographic Information Science and Technology. I'm interested in Human-centered research that focuses on human mobility and behavior in particular. My research is about walkability in an urban context. I am looking into providing a healthy environment for people with respect to the relationship between urban morphology and human perception and health. Recent interest in social cartography has prompted me to investigate potential synergies between quantitative and qualitative research.
Megan S. Porter
Doctoral Researcher
I am a hazards geographer investigating the complex dimensions of risk and vulnerability within severe weather hazard contexts and disaster spaces. I am interested in the ways that community-engaged science can build capacities towards addressing social inequities and improve outcomes in disaster prone spaces.
My current research projects include conducting focus groups about wildfire risk, analyzing focus groups of people impacted by hurricane Harvey, fielding surveys to Emergency Managers about severe weather risk communication, and preparing my dissertation research on tornado vulnerability in the southeast U.S.
Ben Dohan
Student Researcher
I am a graduate student in the Geography and the Environment program at Texas Tech. I work with Dr. Henderson on my thesis research, which is about vulnerability to extreme heat in Puerto Rico. I have a bachelor's degree in Geography from Middlebury College, where I also researched natural hazards, particularly flooding. My broad research interests are in vulnerability to climate-driven natural hazards and the policy responses to that vulnerability. Outside of school, I enjoy climbing, sailing, and cycling.
Tahmina Khan
Student Researcher
I am a graduate student majoring in Geography and the Environment program at Texas Tech University. My research interest involves disasters, climate change and geospatial analysis. Currently, I am assisting with disaster research methods and analysis at RED lab. I have a master’s degree on Applied Biological Sciences from Gifu University, Japan and I completed my undergraduate study from Geography & Environment at University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. I worked on the urban flooding in Dhaka previously and published a book chapter. Please click the following link if you are interested more:
Impact of Land-Use Change on Flooding Patterns | SpringerLink
Tahmina Bintay Younos
Graduate Research Student
I am a graduate student at Texas Tech University with a Geography and Environment major and a Geographic Information System Technology minor. Here, I am working as a Teaching Assistant in the Department of Geoscience at Texas Tech University, USA, and also a graduate Research Student at RED lab, assisting with qualitative research methods and analysis. Before joining TTU, I completed my Bachelor’s and Master of Disaster Management from the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. So, for my graduate-level studies, I planned to research technological approaches to address the multi-level problems related to population, disaster, and environment.