South African expertise everywhere

Dr. Ivor van Heerden's voice became familiar to hurricane waters during Hurricane Katrina. The geologist who grew up in Pietermaritzburg and studied geology at the University of Natal in Pietermaritzburg, is deputy director of the Louisiana State University’s Hurricane Centre. Using sophisticated computer software, he was able to pinpoint how bad the storm would be and warned authorities days before it struck New Orleans. He was also able to plot where the flood water would go. Dr. van Heerden first left South Africa to study in the US, as no South African university was carrying out coastal research at the time. He returned to South Africa in 1983 but left permanently in 1989, after being offered a job by Louisiana State University where along with engineer Marc Levitan, he set up the university’s hurricane centre.