"Understanding Community Vulnerability to Natural Hazards to Imporve Emergency Management" Nathan Wood, PhD. Nate is a research geographer with the USGS Western Geographic Science Center and is located at the USGS Oregon Water Science Center in Portland, Oregon. He earned a Ph.D. in geography from Oregon State University, a M.S. in marine science from University of South Florida, and a B.S. in geology from Duke University. His research focuses on the use of GIS tools and collaborative processes to characterize societal vulnerability to natural hazards, including sudden-onset and chronic hazards. March 8, 2013 in Kidder 274.