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Civil and Environmental Engineering department's Dr. Hani Mahmassani was quoted in the Science News Online during the week of April 7, 2007 (Vol. 171, No. 14). The subject of the article was "Formula for Panic: Crowd-motion Findings May Prevent Stampedes." The article, written by Davide Castelvecchi, addressed the tragic stampede that occurred during a mass pilgrimage to Mecca in 2006. It further discussed the findings of scientists who have studied the incident and the recommendations made for safe passage in the future.
The following is a direct quote from the article:
The results are "remarkable," says Hani Mahmassani, a traffic-dynamics expert at the University of Maryland at College Park.. "It sheds incredible light on the anatomy of a major crowd disaster." But Mahmassani, who has also advised the Saudi government on preventing stampedes during the Hajj, warns that understanding the dynamics of crowd panic is not the same as preventing it. "Panic has a psychological dimension," he says.
For the complete article, please click here
April 17, 2007
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