An officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve and a senior program manager with
the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Countering Weapons of Mass
Destruction Office, David Ostwind joined the Marine Affairs department
as a PhD student in 2022 and is currently researching how evacuation
by sea may save lives and alleviate suffering after a catastrophic
incident.  David seeks to develop a methodology to categorize and
prioritize U.S. jurisdictions that require Catastrophic Incident
Sealift (CIS) capability.  His research will also evaluate and
classify vessels for evacuation by sea following the National Incident
Management Systems (NIMS) typing model.  Prior to attending URI, David
conducted research on this topic as a student at the U.S. Naval War
College and has supported the U.S. Department of Transportation’s
Maritime Administration in preparing for disaster response while
completing an interagency detail.