Dear Board Members:

Last night when on a research expedition I came across a story that was so sad it brought tears to my eyes and I found it so moving, I can do nothing other than wish to share, it with you.

First, I'm posting this scientists illustrious, career bio, so you can capture the accomplishments of this man, because they should be greatly admired.

Then I will invite you to learn about how a true disaster struck this mans life and how it's truly amazing how he survived this ordeal.

Lastly, attached to this page is the link to his earthquake prediction page. It's a very good one.

While I do not wish to move anyone to tears, I believe this story is one each and everyone should know about and of course form your own opinions as to how you feel about this man.

Petra

George Pararas-Carayannis
Brief Professional/Biographical Summary
EDUCATION
1954, Lycee Leonin, Athens, Greece (top of class - awarded scholarship, University of Montpellier, France)
1959, B.S. Chemistry-Mathematics, Roosevelt University, Chicago, U.S.A.
1963, M.S.Chemistry, Roosevelt University, Chicago.
1967, M.S. Oceanography, University of Hawaii.
1975, Ph.D. Marine Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware.(Received Ph.D with 4.0 grade point average - First Ph.D. to be awarded by the Un. of Delaware in the Marine Sciences).
Other specialized training on Environmental Engineering. Coastal Engineering, Geology, Seismology, Volcanology and Geophysics, at:
* Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT);
* University of Michigan, Ann Arbor;
* Loyola University, Chicago;
* Hawaii Institute of Geophysics, Hawaii;
* Coastal Engineering Research Center, Washington D.C.
EMPLOYMENT
* Director, International Tsunami Information Center, of UNESCO-IOC (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization- Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission), (1974 to 1992).
* Tsunami Advisor, State of Hawaii, Civil Defense Agency (1974-1992).(Volunteer Community Service)
* Oceanographer, U.S. Army, Coastal Engineering Research Center (CERC), Washington, D.C.(1972-1974).
* Oceanographer for the New York District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (1970-1972).
* Technical Director and Geologist, Mermex S.A. Mining Corporation, Mexico (1970).
* Director, World Data Center A-Tsunami; Oceanographer, International Tsunami Information Center (ITIC), National Ocean Survey (1967-1970).
* Geophysicist, Hawaii Institute of Geophysics, University of Hawaii (1963-1967).
* Research Chemist, Joanna Western Mills Company, Chicago, Illinois (1959-1963).

SPECIAL ASSIGNMENTS (A few examples)

* Chief Scientist and Consultant to UNDP (United Nations Development Program) on Southwest Pacific Mission to Develop a Regional Five Year Plan for Disaster Mitigation.
* Consultant to: Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission / Marine Sciences Section of UNESCO
* Consultant to UNDRO (United Nations Disaster Relief Organization), Geneva; Special training programs in developing countries in South America.
* Member: Special UNESCO Committee which developed the program of implementation for the Secretary General of the United Nations on the International Decade for Natural Disaster Mitigation (IDNDR).
* Consultant: Nuclear Regulatory Commission and predecessor agency, the Atomic Energy Commission, on nuclear plant siting, Hurricane and hurricane surge effects, review of Environmental impact statements, and other varied assignments.
* Co-author of American Nuclear Society National and International Environmental Standards for Nuclear Power Plants, safety, and siting. Participant: President's Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) (1973).

SPECIAL EXPERTISE
* Extensive experience on mathematical modeling of hurricanes, hurricane surges, and tsunamis.
* Coastal and Ocean Engineering.
* Extensive experience in environmental work (Effects of ocean dumping; coastal processes).
* Applied tsunami research, including: Focal mechanisms of earthquakes and tsunamis (with N. S F. support);
* Development of methodology for studying tsunami propagation and terminal effects;
* Historical documentation of tsunamis in Hawaii, Alaska, the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans;
* Quantitative surveys of the most important tsunamis to strike Hawaii for the last fifty years;
* Development of tsunami inundation limits for coastal evacuation and zoning;
* Development of mathematical modeling for tsunami travel times and paths;
* Development of methodology for fast earthquake epicenter determinations; real time assessment of the tsunami hazard for warning purposes.
* Earthquake, Tsunami, and Hurricane Surveys
* Environmental Impact Statements.
* Risk analysis.
* Development of a multi phase approach to environmental hazard vulnerability reduction and preparedness.
* Planning and preparedness for environmental hazard risk reduction. * Standard Operating Plans for Civil Defense Agencies.

INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC LEADERSHIP

Organized and chaired or co-chaired several international conferences, symposia, and workshops, on disasters and mitigation of disasters in United States, Canada, Chile, Peru, Mexico, China, Phillipines, Ecuador, former Soviet Union,and elsewhere. The following are a few examples:

* Co-Chairman: International Tsunami Workshop, August 1989, Novosibirsk, Siberia, USSR
* Co-Chairman / Keynote Speaker: Fourth International Conference on Natural Disaster Mitigation, August 1991, Perugia, Italy.
* Chairman: Third International Conference on Disaster Mitigation, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California La Jolla, California, and at CICESE, Ensenada, Mexico,1988.
* Chairman: XI Session of the International Tsunami Warning System in the Pacific, UNESCO-IOC,September 1987, Beizing, China.

International Cooperation / Leadership in Disaster Mitigation. Since 1965, when the International Tsunami Warning System in the Pacific was established at a meeting in Honolulu, instrumental in increasing the membership from the original 6 nations to 25. (presently 28). As Director of ITIC under the auspices of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and its Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), handled and processed all Tsunami investigations around the world; monitored tsunami warning system automation; prepared detailed data bases for historical tsunamis; arranged for membership of several nations into the Tsunami Warning System; published and distributed educational newsletters to 75 countries around the world; prepared, participated and distributed master plans for the development of tsunami warning systems in the Pacific; assisted developing countries with disaster preparedness; developed and published numerous educational materials; conducted liaison activities and international cooperation with agencies in more than 50 different countries; managed and conducted a very successful international visiting scientists training program in Hawaii; monitored and performed important tsunami research; participated, chaired and gave keynote addresses at several international conferences in Europe, China and the Americas; published a glossary with definitions of more than 3,000 technical terms; edited and published voluminous proceedings of conferences; published numerous papers, books and reports; performed noteworthy community services; responded to hundreds of inquiries for assistance from numerous countries around the world.
International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR): Active in the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR), by having contributed to the United Nations master planning for implementation, particularly for developing countries.
International Scientific Societies: Co-founder and officer of the Tsunami Society,Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary) and the International Society for Natural Hazards Mitigation (Vice-President, incorporating it as a non-profit international organization in Hawaii). Served as Chairman or co-organizer of Conferences for these societies in Hawaii, Canada, China, former Soviet Union, Mexico, and in Perugia, Italy.

SPECIAL BULLETIN
Internationally Renown Scientist Dr. George Pararas-Carayannis' Life in Great Danger
"Cruel and Unusual Punishment in Violation of International Laws Protecting Human Rights

See Link: http://www.pixi.com/~itmc/bulletin.html

HELP US SAVE THIS GENTLE MAN, DR. GEORGE PARARAS-CARAYANNIS. Supporters Fear He Will Suffer Similar Fate
A loving family man and internationally renowned scientist, Dr. George Pararas-Carayannis, scheduled to be taken to the same Federal Prison Center at Fort Worth, Texas - where James McDougal died.
Dr. George Pararas-Carayannis ("George") is 62 years old and a very sick man. He suffers from life threatening physical impairments which include severe heart disease. Recently, he suffered severe thrombophlebitis (blood clots in the legs), severe pulmonary embolism (blood clots to the lungs) and three heart attacks. He has already undergone two angioplasties and he may require open heart surgery. Doctors state that George is "at high risk for further heart failure, arrhythmias, another severe heart attack, and sudden death". They warn that "the stress of removing him to a prison facility, "will result in his death". They recommend "Home Detention" as being the more humane way of treating him and keeping him alive. Even so, George is scheduled to be taken to the same facility where James McDougal died, to face 41 months in prison.
Supporters, friends and fellow scientists from all over the world are publicly expressing their concerns. They fear that George, placed under the "care" of the same Bureau of Prisons facilities and personnel, almost certainly will meet a fate similar to that of James McDougal. With his history of heart attacks and other chronic illnesses, it is doubtful that George will survive a prison sentence.

• Dr. Pararas-Carayannis Earthquake Prediction Page