The Disaster Research Center, or DRC, was the first social science research center in the world devoted to the study of disasters. It was established at Ohio State University in 1963 and moved to the University of Delaware in 1985. The center conducts field and survey research on group, organizational and community preparation for, response to, and recovery from natural and technological disasters and other community-wide crises. DRC researchers have carried out systematic studies on a broad range of disaster types, including hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, hazardous chemical incidents, and plane crashes. DRC has also done research on civil disturbances and riots, including the 1992 Los Angeles unrest. Staff have conducted nearly 700 field studies since the center's inception, traveling to communities throughout the United States and internationally, including Mexico, Canada, Japan, Italy, and Turkey. Core faculty members are from the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice, the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and the School of Public Policy and Administration. The staff also includes postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, undergraduates and research support personnel.