Ronald W. Perry joined Arizona State University in 1983 as Professor of Public Affairs. He has studied natural and technological hazards and terrorism since 1971. His principal interests are incident management systems, citizen warning behavior, public education and community preparedness. He has published more than a dozen books and many journal articles. Perry currently serves on the Steering Committees of the Phoenix Urban Areas Strategic Initiative and the Phoenix Metropolitan Medical Response System. He also serves on the Arizona Council for Earthquake Safety and on the Fire Chiefs' Advisory Committees for the Arizona Cities of Gilbert, Mesa, Phoenix and Tempe. He holds the Award for Excellence in Emergency Management from the Arizona Emergency Services Association and the Pearce Memorial Award for Contributions to Hazardous Incident Response from the Phoenix Fire Department. He also holds both the Award for Outstanding Environmental Achievement by a Team from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and a Certificate of Recognition from Vice President Gore's National Partnership for Reinventing Government.

Michael K. Lindell is the former Director of the Hazard Reduction & Recovery Center (HRRC) at Texas A&M University and has 30 years of experience in the field of emergency management, conducting research on community adjustment to floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and releases of radiological and toxic materials. He worked for many years as an emergency preparedness contractor to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and has provided technical assistance on radiological emergency preparedness for the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Department of Energy, and nuclear utilities. In addition, he has trained as a Hazardous Materials Specialist at the Michigan Hazardous Materials Training Center and worked on hazardous materials emergency preparedness with state emergency response commissions, local emergency planning committees, and chemical companies. In the past few years, Lindell directed HRRC staff performing hurricane hazard analysis and evacuation planning for the entire Texas Gulf coast. He has made over 120 presentations before scientific societies and short courses for emergency planners, and he has been an invited participant in workshops on risk communication and emergency management in this country and abroad. Lindell has also written extensively on emergency management and is the author of over 120 technical reports and journal articles, as well as five books.