When a disaster strikes what is the first move — fight or flight? Samantha Joye chose to fight.

As thousands were forced to leave their homes on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, the University professor began conducting research on the oil plume from the Deepwater Horizon explosion in May 2010.

Joye was one of the many scientists, government officials and journalists working in the Gulf following the oil spill.

Beginning today, scientists, government officials, the media and the public are coming together at the University to decipher what the communication problems were and how they can be resolved in the future, should another disaster occur.

“It started just from Mandy Joye being so involved in the response,” said Jill Gambill, public relations coordinator for the Georgia Sea Grant Program and one of the coordinators of the Gulf oil spill symposium taking place this week. “We had a broad range of people to bring into the discussion.”

Joye, a professor in the school of marine programs, said she was actually out in the Gulf when plans for

the symposium started, but attended as many as she could upon her return. It was her idea to include a media panel, so people from each side could “sit face to face and talk about this stuff.”

The symposium, which Gambill said is expected to attract several hundred attendees, kicks off with a keynote lecture from “first lady of the ocean” Sylvia Earle, the National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence.

“She’s like, the queen of oceanography and we’re really lucky to have her,” Joye said of Earle. “She’s an incredible person and if you hear her speak, you can’t help but get excited about the ocean.”

Several University alumni who played key roles in the coverage and recovery efforts from the Gulf spill are returning to their alma mater for the event, including Ray Jakubczak, a senior consultant for Cardno-Entrix who was contracted by British Petroleum to provide scientific services on coral reefs; Justin Gillis, a reporter with The New York Times who covered the oil spill; and Lt. Sue Kerver, the district eight public affairs officer for the U.S. Coast Guard.

Issues such as economic affects, reaction of marine benthos, deep water plumes and working with government will be discussed during the three panels, one each for local officials in the Gulf of Mexico area, scientists and members of the media, Gambill said.

“The reason I suggested [panelists] was because they have done some really groundbreaking work in the Gulf,” Joye said, adding there were only two panelists she had not worked with personally. “They are really top-notch people.”

Charles Fisher, a biology professor at Penn State, said panelists would only have a brief amount of time to speak on their particular research topics, his being the effects of oil on coral reef communities.

One of Wednesday’s panelists is Monty Graham, an assistant professor in the department of marine sciences at University of South Alabama, who has been studying zooplankton in the Gulf for a number of years prior to the Deepwater Horizon spill.

“I think that the symposium has evolved a little and the focus now is how, during this time of man-made disaster, how was it portrayed in the media,” he said.

Graham said a major issue with media portrayal of the Gulf spill was finding a balance between what scientists were comfortable talking about — data that had been tested several times — and information the public wanted to know immediately.

Irv Mendelssohn, an adjunct professor in the department of oceanography and coastal sciences at LSU, will also be participating in one of the panels on Wednesday.

“It’s a great idea to have a symposium to try to reconcile the sometimes conflicting interests of these parties, and to provide objective assessments to the news media,” Mendelssohn said. “Often, though they have a laudable goal of disseminating information to the public, they can sensationalize things. This is a conference that’s really going to look at that question.”

Rex Caffey, director of the LSU Center for Natural Resource Economics and Policy and a professor in the department of agricultural economics and agribusiness, said a key piece of information he wants to get across at the symposium is what the economic effects of the spill are — no one knows the answer yet.

“There is not going to be one final answer,” he said. “The answer is blank. The economic impact is blank.”

Patricia Thomas, a professor in Grady and the Knight Chair in health and medical journalism, will be moderating the panel directed at media.

“You can’t help but be interested in the biggest story of 2010,” she said. “It’s unusual to see people who did such influential coverage all around the same table … Press performance has been criticized, as it always is. What do the reporters have to say about that?”

Thomas said the symposium touched on larger issues than just one disaster, such as the dependency on fossil fuels.

“[The symposium is] a window into the biggest issue that we have to deal with as a world going forward,” she said.

BUILDING BRIDGES IN CRISIS

When: Today at 2 p.m.

Where: University Chapel

What: Sylvia Earle lecture

Price: Free

More Information: Visit our website for other events