Dr. Ivor van Heerden, the former deputy director of the Louisiana State University Hurricane Center, is suing the university to get his job back. Dr. van Heerden, an internationally known hurricane expert, was an outspoken critic of the Army Corps of Engineers, arguing that engineering mistakes had caused breaches in the hurricane protection system that led to most of the death and destruction in New Orleans from Hurricane Katrina. State officials named him to lead Team Louisiana, an investigation into the causes of the damage from the storm. van Heerden alleges his outspoken criticisms of the Corps led to his dismissal. He said he was told by administrators that his verbal barbs against the federal government would lead to cuts in aid for L.S.U. The university won’t comment.
Dr. van Heerden wrote a book, “The Storm – What Went Wrong and Why During Hurricane Katrina.” It’s available at amazon.com
February 17, 2010