Our 2022 research on wind-related bounce house incidents has been featured in a story on ABC. Inflatable bounce houses (portable inflatable amusement devices) can moved by even relatively light winds if they are not secured. Nearly 500 injuries and at least 28 deaths have occurred in wind-blown bounce houses since the year 2000.
We maintain updated statistics on these incidents on our webpage, weathertobounce.com
This summer, I helped to lead the The Socio-Ecological Role of Greenways in Urban Systems (SERGUS) Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU). This program is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF – Award #2150093) supported 10 undergraduate students as they conducted research at SIUE for 10 weeks this summer. The program focused on greenways – the Madison County Transit (MCT) trails and how they impact Edwardsville.
Our students did fantastic work exploring climate, vegetation, ants, and environmental justice topics. The created an interactive StoryMap to highlight their findings. Each participant also examined a specific research question and created a poster to share their results. It was very rewarding to help lead this program and to work with such outstanding students!
More information can be found in the SIUE Press Release.
My research on vehicle crashes in winter precipitation was recently featured on KMOX NewsRadio.
You can read more about it and listen to the interview here.
Dr. Alan W. Black 