We have all been moved by the desperate plight of people in Burma and China after the recent cyclone and earthquake. Many of us will have been sufficiently disturbed by reports and TV pictures to pick up the phone and do our bit with a small donation. But how many of us can honestly say we wish we were there in the heart of the catastrophe, picking through the debris, risking our personal safety, and helping people rebuild their shattered lives? For the engineers who form almost a third of any major relief effort, there is no doubt this is where they want to be, doing what engineers do best: bringing their skills to bear on fundamental issues of human survival. One such person is civil engineer Dr Robert Hodgson who, as well as working as a consultant for Black & Veatch, is the chair of international disaster relief charity RedR, which recruits and trains engineers and other aid workers to respond to disasters worldwide.
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