Dr. Sheila Lakshmi Steinberg is aProfessor of Social and Environmental Sciences at Brandman University-ChapmanUniversity System, Irvine, CA.  The themethroughout her research is examining people and their relationship to space andplace.Steinberg’s research interests includeenvironmental sociology, research methods, social inequality, community,geospatial research (GIS) and policy. Sheila has always been interested in theweather and climate from living in so many different parts of the U.S.Recently, she co-authored a book entitled GIS Research Methods: Incorporating Spatial Perspectives for Esri Pressand has also co-authored a chapter on this topic entitled"Geospatial Analysis Technology and Social Science Research" in the Handbookof Emergent Technologies, Sharlene Hesse-Biber, Editor, Oxford UniversityPress 2011.  In 2006, she co-authored a book for Sage Publicationsentitled, GIS for the Social Sciences: Investigating Space and Place. In2013, she joined Brandman University where she now teaches courses related tosocial and environmental sciences.William A. Sprigg, Ph.D., Yale University is ResearchProfessor Emeritus, University of Arizona, the current and founding director ofthe World Meteorological Organization’s Pan-America Center for airborne dustforecasting in Barbados, and research associate of the Public Health Institutein California. He is a member of the American Meteorological Society’s Board onEnvironment & Health, the Chinese Academy of Sciences Committee for DigitalEarth Observations, and the Serbian Program of Basic Research, EnvironmentalProtection and Climate Change. Former positions includeDistinguished Professor at California’s Chapman University, Director, U.S.National Research Council Board on Atmospheric Science and Climate, head of theU.S. National Climate Program Office, and architect of the U.S. ClimateProgram. He participated in the first Intergovernmental Panel on ClimateChange. Authoring a number of technical publications on climate and, mostrecently, on his current research interests, airborne dust and human health,Dr. Sprigg continues his interests in interdisciplinary research and sciencepolicy.

• Introduction.- Superstorm Sandy: a Game Changer?.- Extreme Weather: Politicsand Public Communication.- Dust Storms, Human Health and a Global Early WarningSystem.- Interdisciplinary Engagement of People and Place around Extreme Weather.- Engaging Communitiesto Assess the Health Effects of Extreme Weather in the Arctic.- Refining theProcess of Science Support for Communities around Extreme Weather Events andClimate Impacts.- Reducing Vulnerability to Extreme Heat throughInterdisciplinary Research and Stakeholder Engagement.- Sociospatial Modelingfor climate-based emergencies: Extreme Heat Vulnerability.- Drought and Health in the Context of Public Engagement.-Extreme Weather:Mental Health Challenges and Community Response Strategies.- ExtremeWinter: Weaving Weather and Climate into a Narrative through Laura IngallsWilder.- The Air We Breathe: How Extreme Weather Conditions Harm Us.- HumanResponse to and Consequences of the May 22, 2011, Joplin Tornado.- Approachesfor Building Community Resilienceto Extreme Heat.