April 20, 2007

Tabletop exercise tests students’ abilities to coordinate emergency-management response

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By Mike Porter

VCU Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness seniors Brian Hickey (left) and Gurvinderpal "GP" Chaudhry (right) participate in a daylong tabletop exercise designed to test their skills as professor William Parrish (center) checks their progress. The tabletop exercise was a scenario-driven exercise to test the students’ ability to coordinate a response in the areas of emergency management, intelligence fusion, firefighting, external affairs, public safety and public health and medical resources. VCU was the first major research university in the country to develop a homeland security and emergency preparedness undergraduate degree and will offer a master’s program beginning next fall. Photo by Mike Porter, VCU Office of University News Services.
VCU Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness seniors Brian Hickey (left) and Gurvinderpal "GP" Chaudhry (right) participate in a daylong tabletop exercise designed to test their skills as professor William Parrish (center) checks their progress. The tabletop exercise was a scenario-driven exercise to test the students’ ability to coordinate a response in the areas of emergency management, intelligence fusion, firefighting, external affairs, public safety and public health and medical resources. VCU was the first major research university in the country to develop a homeland security and emergency preparedness undergraduate degree and will offer a master’s program beginning next fall. Photo by Mike Porter, VCU Office of University News Services.


VCU homeland security and emergency preparedness students were paired with professional mentors, including police, fire and emergency services personnel from both the City of Richmond and Henrico County. The exercise took place in the City of Richmond’s Emergency Operations Center, which provided a real world environment for the students. L-3 Communications Services Group, a communications and surveillance products and services company, offered modeling and simulation software to help students manage regional emergency response personnel and equipment as the exercise progressed. Photo by Mike Porter, VCU Office of University News Services.
VCU homeland security and emergency preparedness students were paired with professional mentors, including police, fire and emergency services personnel from both the City of Richmond and Henrico County. The exercise took place in the City of Richmond’s Emergency Operations Center, which provided a real world environment for the students. L-3 Communications Services Group, a communications and surveillance products and services company, offered modeling and simulation software to help students manage regional emergency response personnel and equipment as the exercise progressed. Photo by Mike Porter, VCU Office of University News Services.