Janey Camp

Research Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Vanderbilt University
I have a broad range of interests, but ultimately I'm interested in studying the interactions of nature and man-made systems utilizing geospatial technologies. This includes modeling future flooding and the potential impacts on communities and infrastructure systems to identify key risk areas. Using a holistic, all hazards approach, we can use risk management techniques to not just identify those key risk areas, but also consider future planning and adaptation strategies that may pose low-cost, high-reward opportunities to assist in informed decision-making. I'm also strongly interested in sharing knowledge with the next generation on these issues by integrating engineering and geospatial technologies in K–12 education to prepare the next group of engineers and scientists to address the challenges of the future. In addition, I'm involved in several interdisciplinary projects focused on infrastructure system adaptation to climate change, risk management and also STEM integration into education.

Dr. Camp's research work ranges from development of new methodologies for enterprise risk management to development of a spill management information system (SMIS 2.0) which links an advanced hydrodynamic and spill model with a geographic information system (GIS) interface. Dr. Camp is also interested in the impacts of climate change on civil infrastructure including freight transportation structures and facilities which led to her helping organize a national summit focused on this topic in June 2011 at Vanderbilt University.

Janey also sees the value of integrating GIS in pre-secondary education and is working with Metro Nashville Public Schools to integrate GIS into the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Academy curriculum. Another area of research focus is involved with include a study of the impacts and “true costs” of flooding from high intensity, short duration precipitation events as may be seen in the future due to climate change; the combination of social, ecological, and economic factors to measure consequences of such events; and land use management techniques and policies to manage flood events through mitigation or adaptation efforts.

Dr. Camp is one of several researchers involved in an interdisciplinary project to investigate the extent to which environmental stressors may prompt migration or adaptation in coastal low-lying areas; a project that combines risk management, GIS, environmental hazard mapping and modeling along with social science studies of human behavior and coupled human and nature interactions.