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Friends - Purdue University
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Professor
Kyle Lutes (left) and his
students developed a valuable tool
for World Hope International.
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Purdue University has joined World
Hope International (WHI) in assisting communities devastated
by disasters through development of a new web-based disaster
management software program. The new software allows
WHI to better respond to disasters by managing tracking
and allocation of supplies, volunteers, and command sites.
The system eliminates much of the paperwork necessary to
manage complex relief operations and allows quick integration
of crucial elements of the relief process.
For the past twenty-one months, WHI has
facilitated disaster response command sites across the United
States. The challenges of managing thousands of volunteers
and tons of supplies plus overseeing case management files
have been tremendous. 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.
 Development
of custom software solutions can be expensive, but using
Purdue’s academic resources offered an innovative
opportunity for WHI to receive 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.
The first 48 hours after a disaster is
crucial to developing the infrastructure needed to access
and implement a command center. With the use of this new
disaster management software, WHI can more quickly and efficiently
serve devastated communities. Purdue University has given
an invaluable gift to WHI and to the communities in which
it will operate.
The Department
of Computer and Information Technology at Purdue University
prepares students for existing and emerging careers in the
application of information systems and technology.
For more information on the CIT program,
please visit their website at: www.tech.purdue.edu/cit
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