We know both too much and not enough about the earthquake that struck northeastern Japan on March 11 and its aftermath. We are overwhelmed by images and succeeding reports, yet we have little understanding of what is transpiring. What is clear is that an earthquake is a multivalent event, needing to be considered from many perspectives. This panel brings together scholars from the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, engineering, and medicine to provide some purchase in the struggle to understand the unfolding events.

Guest Panelists:
Mahshid Abir, M.D., Fellow, Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program / Clinical Lecturer, Emergency Medicine; The University of Michigan

Phillip Brown, Professor, History, The Ohio State University

Rieko Kage, 2010-11 Toyota Visiting Professor, CJS / Associate Professor, Political Science; University of Tokyo

William Martin, Professor, Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences, The University of Michigan

Jeroen Ritsema, Henry Pollack Endowed Professor of Geological Sciences / Associate Professor, Geological Sciences; The University of Michigan