The system they created eliminates much of the paperwork and
allows quick response in the first crucial 48 hours of a crisis. Emergency management typically deals with
preparing, supporting, and rebuilding a society or community when natural or
man-made disasters occur. 

In that first window, chaos generally rules the area, and
infrastructure is unreliable. A quick
response can make a life or death difference in many survivors' lives.

That said, the team developed a new web-based disaster
management software program that will streamline crisis response. It allows WHI to keep track of supplies,
volunteers, and command sites.

In an effort to create a more effective means of managing
the daily operations of a disaster command center, WHI sought a technological
solution from Purdue
University. Through
Purdue's academic resources, a student team offered WHI this critical tool as a
gift of intellectual property.

Ten students designed the software during a spring semester
course under Kyle Lutes, Associate Professor of Computer and Information
Technology. Over 1,370 hours were spent on application development, resulting in a product value that Purdue estimated at over $68,000.