Dr. Laura Hart is a Program Coordinator and Instructor in the Emergency Management and Homeland Security (EMHS) Program and senior research staff within the Center for Disaster Risk Policy (CDRP). She is originally from Rogers, Arkansas but has lived in the Florida Panhandle for decades. She holds a BA in International Affairs, an MPA, and a PhD in Public Administration and Public Policy, all through Florida State University.
Dr. Hart is a member of the Disaster Incident Research Team (DIRT) and is one of the primary members of the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) program. As a member of the team, she has been activated for or deployed to hurricanes including Hermine, Matthew, Irma, Michael, Dorian, Sally, Laura, Ian, Idalia, Debby, Helene, and Milton, as well as various other incidents including searches for missing persons, flooding events, the 2018 eruption of Kilauea, and the 2021 Champlain Towers Surfside condominium collapse. Dr. Hart conducts in-team research, builds and executes both theoretical and applied research, handles permitting and paperwork related to UAS operations, serves as a designer, instructor, and facilitator of UAS training courses geared towards both students and public safety professionals, and deploys as an unmanned pilot and occasional team leader within the UAS team. Dr. Hart has participated in projects or research focusing on remote sensing and other aspects of emergency management (EM) both domestically (Contiguous US, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico) and abroad (in countries including Haiti, the Philippines, Belize, and Jamaica).
Within the field of emergency management (EM), Dr. Hart is especially interested in the policies surrounding the implementation and utilization of unmanned aircraft systems. She holds dedicated interests in administrative and legislative policy, technological policy-making, remote sensing, aerial thermography, emotional labor, disaster media, and the history of EM. Dr. Hart enjoys technical writing, field work, and applied research.
Foundations of Emergency Management, Emergency Management Programs, Planning, and Policy, Unmanned Aircraft Systems in Emergency Management (UAS 1), Application of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS 2), Mayhem Media: Aliens, Zombies, and Human Error (QM certified as High Quality), The Third Sector- Nonprofits, Non-Governmental Organizations, and Disaster
Semper Gumby textbook (in progress, focuses on public fieldwork within emergency management-centered remote sensing), Counter UAS, Remote ID acquisition and testing, Decentralized aerial deployment of thermal sensing
