About My Research:

Liz Skilton specializes in the history of disaster and human response to it. In addition to her collaborative research as part of her work as the Associate Director of Research and leader of the Connecting People and Policy Research Program at the Blanco Public Policy Center, her grant-funded research community-based projects are geared at assessing the impact and assisting communities in recovery from crises in Louisiana and the Gulf South.

Her book, Tempest: Hurricane Naming and American Culture (LSU Press, 2019), reviews the history of the gendered hurricane naming practice and its influence on the perception, commemoration, and memory of storms throughout history. Meanwhile, her chapter in her co-edited collection, Rethinking American Disasters (LSU Press, 2023), examines the role meteorological language like the terms “100-Year or 500-Year Flood” plays in the understanding of flooding events.

Skilton also researches other disasters, particularly those that impact Louisiana. She is the creator of the Recent Louisiana Disasters Oral History Project that tracks the impact of disasters on Louisiana in recent years (post-2005).

Funding for Skilton's research on the history of American disasters has been provided through grants from federal, state, and local entities.