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Amer Hamad Issa Abukhalaf

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Research Assistant and Ph.D. Candidate at University of Florida, University of Florida

Amer Hamad Issa Abukhalaf is a Ph.D. candidate and research assistant at the Florida Institute for Built Environment Resilience and a member of the Disasters, Trust, and Social Change Research Lab. He researches risk management and safety design with a focus on natural hazards, built environment, crisis management, and emergency planning. Abukhalaf is also a civil engineer and a structural designer by practice and has a master's in executive management from Ashland University in Ohio. He is a member of the Hazard Mitigation and Disaster Recovery Planning Division at the American Planning Association and a Project Management Institute Certified Practitioner. In addition, Abukhalaf is a University of Florida registered hurricane expert and a University of Florida Outstanding Merit Award receiver for 2021. He has authored 22 peer-reviewed published papers in top journals in related fields, including the International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, Disaster Prevention and Management, and Natural Hazards.

Experience

  • 2019–present
    Research Assistant, Florida Institute for Built Environment Resilience (FIBER), University of Florida
  • 2017–2019
    Project Manager, BBTS-USA
  • 2011–2016
    Structural Safety Design Group Leader, AIC Steel

Education

  • 2022 
    University of Florida, PhD. Candidate at the Design, Construction, and Planning College
  • 2021 
    Annual International Achievement Awards , Outstanding Merit Certification Award
  • 2020 
    American Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Construction Health and Safety Certificate
  • 2020 
    International Construction Honor Society (ICHS) , Sigma Lambda Chi Honor Lifetime Membership Award
  • 2018 
    American Project Management Institute (PMI), Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)
  • 2018 
    Ashland University, Master in Executive Management
  • 2018 
    Ashland University, Minor Degree in Project Management
  • 2018 
    Ashland University, Minor Degree in Supply Chain Management
  • 2017 
    Association of College Honor Societies (ACHS) , Delta Mu Delta Honor Lifetime Membership Award
  • 2015 
    AIC Steel, Top Achiever Award
  • 2014 
    Sustainable Development Professionals Center, Time Management Certificate
  • 2014 
    AIC Steel, Achievement Award
  • 2013 
    Engineers Training Center , Earthquake Resisting Structure Design Certificate
  • 2012 
    Engineers Training Center, Primavera Projects Management Certificate
  • 2011 
    Jordanian Engineering Association , Structural Design Certificate
  • 2011 
    Hashemite University , Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering

Publications

  • 2022
    International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, Abukhalaf, A. H. I., von Meding, J., Dooling, J., & Abusal, D. (2022). Assessing international students’ vulnerability to hurricanes: University of Florida case study. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 55, 102812. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2022.102812.
  • 2021
    International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, Abukhalaf, A. H. I., & von Meding, J. (2021). Psycholinguistics and emergency communication: A qualitative descriptive study. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 55, 102061. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2021.102061
  • 2021
    Natural Hazard, Abukhalaf, A.H.I., von Meding, J. Integrating international linguistic minorities in emergency planning at institutions of higher education. Nat Hazards (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-021-04859-7
  • 2020
    Natural Hazard , Abukhalaf, A. H. I., & von Meding, J. (2020). Communication challenges in campus emergency planning: The case of hurricane dorian in florida. Natural Hazards (Dordrecht), 104(2), 1535. doi:10.1007/s11069-020-04231-1
  • 2020
    Disaster Prevention and Management, Chmutina, K., Sadler, N., von Meding, J. and Abukhalaf, A.H.I. (2020), "Lost (and found?) in translation: key terminology in disaster studies", Disaster Prevention and Management, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/DPM-07-2020-0232

Professional Memberships

  • The American Planning Association (APA), Florida Chapter, Hazard Mitigation and Disaster Recovery Planning Division.
  • Florida Climate Institute (FCI).
  • American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).
  • Jordanian Engineers Association (JEA).