Photo by Dan Grogan.

Emily Hesaltine

What would you do in the event of an emergency? If faced with a natural or human-made disaster, would you be ready — really ready?

ReallyReady.org, the Federation of American Scientists’ (FAS) new emergency preparedness Web site, launched on August 1, 2006, with a current SEAS student at its helm. Modeled after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Ready.gov, ReallyReady.org was created by Emily Hesaltine, shown above, a third-year systems engineering and economics student at U.Va.

Serving as an Engineering School Science and Technology Policy intern to the FAS’ Michael Stebbins, Hesaltine developed the site, which addresses inaccurate and incomplete information found on the DHS portal, in just nine weeks.

ReallyReady.org includes an evaluation of the government site, which has been the subject of much criticism since its 2003 launch and, Hesaltine says, “offers clearer and less confusing recommendations for emergency preparedness and response. … [ReallyReady.org] is easier to use and understand.”

As a result of Hesaltine’s work with the FAS site, she and ReallyReady.org have been the subjects of a great deal of media attention. In the days immediately following the launch, her story was told by ABC, CNN, The Washington Post, several radio stations and countless blogs throughout the country and world. With headlines like “Is DHS Site Really Ready? Science Intern Thinks Not” and “20-Year-Old Takes on HomelandSecurity,” articles and broadcasts described Hesaltine’s site as giving the DHS “a run for its money.”

“The big problems that we found [on Ready.gov] are inaccurate information, generic advice, redundant details and lengthy descriptions,” Hesaltine told ABC News. For example, the DHS site advises the public to go around a corner in the event of a nuclear explosion nearby. Hesaltine explained, “A small nuclear bomb like one a terrorist would use would probably have a radius of destruction greater than a mile, so going around a corner wouldn’t really help you that much.”

Hesaltine was one of 13 students to participate in the 2006 SEAS Science and Technology Policy Internship Program this summer. Now in its sixth year, the program gives students an opportunity to explore the ways science and technology influence — and are influenced by — public policy in the nation’s capital.

The Science and Technology Policy Internship Program is administered through the Engineering School’s Department of Science, Technology and Society and is funded by donations from SEAS alumni and friends. Next year, the program will become international, with a placement in Paris.

Related Story: 2006 Policy Interns, Placements and Projects