An asteroid has struck Earth, unleashing a catastrophic flood that sweeps away everything in its path. As the waters rise, you race toward higher ground. But, along the way, you encounter people looting abandoned apartments, a woman in labor, a child trapped in an elevator. And then you realize, your own child is missing. What do you do?
Kim Byung-woo’s The Great Flood asks, how do we respond to overwhelming challenges? What are the forces that move us?
In this episode, we explore these questions with engineers Greg Rulifson and Ana Maria Macias Parra, asking what engineering can teach us about responding to disasters. Their work grounds them in action, not helplessness. What do we do with the relatively short time before the flood arrives? We make a difference in other people’s lives.
Works Discussed:
The Great Flood (Byung-woo Kim, 2025)
Programs Discussed:
Humanitarian Engineering – Cockrell School of Engineering – University of Texas at Austin.
Guests
Ana Maria Macias ParraElectrical Engineer and Energy Consultant
Gregory RulifsonDirector and Professor of Humanitarian Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin
Hosts
Zeltzyn Rubi Sanchez LozoyaAssistant Professor of Instruction at the University of Texas at Austin